Kingston and Ulster County
The Gateway is Your Potential Park and Beautiful Landmark to:
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Utilize for Recreation and Health,
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Attract Tourists and Visitors,
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Provide an Iconic Kingston/Ulster Brand,
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Be a source of Civic and County Pride
A 10 minute walk from Uptown Kingston
photo: Wallkill Valley Rail Trail by Alex Smirnov
Imagine an iconic bridge like this over Rte 209, a 15 minute walk from Uptown Kingston
photo: Iron Horse Regional Trail bridgehunter.com
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The U and D Corridor is a public asset owned by the people of Ulster County and for the last nearly 30 years leased to the Catskill Mountain Railroad (CMRR). That lease expires in May 2016. The Corridor is one key part of both the emerging Kingston Greenline and the exciting vision for a unified growing Ulster County Rail Trail network.
THERE ARE ONLY THREE OPTIONS:
for the utilization of the U&D rail corridor between Kingston and the end of the Ashokan Reservoir
A. Conversion to a multi-use linear park and recreational trail accessible for residents for free 365 days a year and acting as a draw for Active Tourism. This option was proposed by the County Executive Office and confirmed in August last year by the Ulster County Legislature with a segment West of the Ashokan as rail only. This segmented approach has the advantage of structuring operations for both trail and rail in the sections in which the highest and best economic uses have been projected.
B. Continued use by a for-profit railroad corporation for rail-only tourist railroad-- which leaves the corridor empty and unused over 300 days a year and requires the payment of fees for usage.
C. Some combination of rail and trail. The CMRR, over the last year and a half, has mounted an aggressive PR and lobbying campaign advocating for, and claiming as feasible, rail alongside trail from Kingston to Boiceville, anchored by the slogan Build the Trail, but Save the Rails. However, this campaign can only be regarded as one of misinformation and emotional appeal. Building rail along side a trail on a single tracked corridor of any kind is difficult and expensive. The CMRR has provided NO even-preliminary engineering studies nor cost estimates for this approach. On the other hand multiple professional engineering studies, including one endorsed by the CMRR, have concluded this to be technically, environmentally, and economically unfeasible.
THE KINGSTON GATEWAY is the proposed branding name of one aspect of the conversion to a multi-use linear park and recreational trail. It is the Direct Bike/Pedestrian route between Kingston and the emerging Ashokan Reservoir Trail and includes two potential Beautiful Intermediate Landmark Destinations only minutes from the heart of Kingston--the Gateway Trestle Bridge Park, (an example shown on the left above) and the Gateway 209 Biking/Pedestrian Bridge, (an example shown in the photo shown on the right).
THE GATEWAY PROVIDES SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS
A) For a projected 100,000 resident uses annually (Versus only 1,000 currently on a corridor that is empty most days) and...
B) As a Landmark attraction for a thriving Active Tourism industry conservatively projected to draw 34,000 new toursits annually, many coming for overnight and multi-day stays.
to the development of the Kingston Gateway would provide for the conversion of the current railroad bridge to the Gateway Trestle Bridge park and a potential link to the popular Hurley Rail Trail as Phase 1 (80,000 annual uses -- one of the highest in the state) with costs being reasonable and construction doable. The vision for Phase 2, which would incorporate the Gateway 209 Biking/Pedestrian Bridge, can be an inspirational source for private/public grant fundraising.
for limited rail with trail to accommodate a short two-mile stretch of tourist railroad in Kingston was extended in December 2014. However, this site believes that this proposal diminishes both rail and trail potentials in that segment, adding costs and offering little benefit for either. A specific loss is of the potential of the two iconic Landmark Attractions of the Gateway. The Compromise Proposal quite plausibly would cost as much as, or more, than the Gateway and has not been endorsed by the Legislature whose policy is still for recreational trail only in the Kingston-Boiceville segment. It has been rejected by the current railroad tenant, the CMRR, as being impractical.
How Can You Help?
A) Become well informed by carefully reading the information on this website, and comparing the data and analysis you see here to that of the CMRR. B) If you are convinced that the Segmented Approach and the Kingston Gateway is a better option, sign the petition and/or contact your public officials as suggested at What You Can Do.