Lehigh Valley Trail makes it into Town
stops short of the village

   After a two year feasibility study, it looks as though the future plans of the Mendon Foundation to extend the Lehigh Valley Trail from the Greenway Trail west to the Village of Caledonia, have been abandoned. An alternate proposal may be completed connecting the Greenway Trail to River Road in the northeast corner of the Town of Caledonia near the industrial park. The Mendon Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that developed the Lehigh Valley Trail in Monroe County, owns the property where the trail extension is being proposed. The foundation currently maintains the 16 mile multi-use trail through Monroe County that is used for hiking, biking, jogging, walking, cross country skiing and equestrian use.

   In 2006 the Mendon Foundation, with support from the Genesee Transportation Council, proposed extending the Lehigh Valley Trail from Rush to the Village of Caledonia, using the old Lehigh Valley rail alignment. The foundation hired Lu Engineers of Penfield to conduct a feasibility study of the proposed trail extension. Caledonia Supervisor Dan Pangrazio appointed Barry Ganzhorn, outdoor and wildlife specialist, to represent the town’s interests in the proposal. Meetings were held in Caledonia to determine the level of public interest and what financial support, if any, the town and village governments had for the project. With the proposed trail’s design running through privately owned lands and along the boundary of JCI, Inc., a Caledonia-based chemical plant, it soon became apparent that concerns around the plant’s security and lack of property owner support was inhibiting any plans to move ahead with the trail extension.

   Another route was considered that would have brought the trail west from River Road at Route 5 in Avon to the Village of Caledonia using the Erie-Attica railroad alignment. This proposal was short lived due to the extensive wetlands in that region.

   With the proposal to extend the Lehigh Valley Trail into the Village of Caledonia officially halted, plans are continuing for a 3,100 foot long trail extension from the Greenway west to River Road, said Warren Wallace of the Mendon Foundation. The plan calls for a small six-car parking area off of River Road at the trail head. The organization is seeking federal grant funds for the proposed 10-foot wide stone dust trail that would be used for pedestrians and cyclists. It is estimated to cost about $200 thousand to construct and will include countless hours of volunteer labor and donated materials to complete it. There is a small segment of the property that has been mined out in the past and left with a 15 foot drop off that would have to be filled in. The other alternative, Wallace says, would be to redirect the trail around the drop off. Engineers will produce a suitable solution to that problem while the foundation will write the grant application to be submitted at the end of June 2008. A decision on the grant is not expected until the end of 2008. If approved, the Mendon Foundation would begin work on the trail extension sometime in 2010.

 

Study to link the Village to the Genesee Valley Greenway

   The Genesee Transportation Council is studying the idea of developing a trail along the old Lehigh Valley Railroad corridor that would link the Village of Caledonia with the existing Genesee Valley Greenway and with the existing Lehigh Valley Trail which extends from the Greenway through Monroe County to the Town of Victor in Ontario County.

   A meeting was held Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at the Village of Caledonia office building for all interested parties and property owners whose land runs adjacent to the Lehigh Valley Railroad corridor to discuss their interest in moving ahead with the proposed trail.

   Lu Engineering of Penfield, NY is conducting a preliminary feasibility study of the proposed trail for the GTC. The Mendon Foundation, Inc., a not-for profit corporation that maintains the Lehigh Valley Trail in Monroe County, secured a grant, sponsored by Livingston County, to conduct the feasibility study of extending the trail to the Village of Caledonia.

   Extension of the Lehigh Valley Trail to the Village of Caledonia was identified by the GTC in the Regional Trails Initiative, an action plan calling for the creation and maintenance of a regional trail system as a means of alternative and economical transportation for pedestrians and bicyclists. The GTC partners with and works collaboratively with numerous trail organizations, New York State D.O.T., regional planning councils and neighboring counties such as Monroe and Livingston to accomplish their goal.

   The proposed trail extension is an approximately seven mile stretch of land from the Genesee River westward to the Village of Caledonia along the abandoned Lehigh Valley Railroad alignment. The groomed trail would be available to pedestrians and bicyclists and would have trailhead locations in the Village of Caledonia. The GTC believes the trail, if completed, would provide numerous benefits to the individuals who travel the scenic route in terms of education about the region and health but also would provide a much needed economic boon to the Village of Caledonia.

   Lisa Burns, director of Livingston County Tourism, says the trail concept as a whole is a big trend right now in terms of promoting tourism. She is working with county and state officials to build increased awareness about the regional trail system here in Livingston County and the Western New York area. Burns says people who partake in trail adventures are those that respect the environment and thoroughly enjoy the outdoors. Their trail excursions bring them into towns, in this case, potentially Caledonia, where they may look for overnight accommodations, food, bicycle service and shopping.

   "It’s a reality, hiking and multi-use trails are an extreme economic benefit to the communities that have them," remarked Burns.

   In its study, the GTC has identified that much of the proposed trail extension in this area lies within privately owned property and some of it has been taken over by industrial development. The first step in the feasibility study was to determine the level of interest and support for the trail development among private property owners and community leaders. Due to these obstacles, it was already determined that the trail could not follow the original Lehigh Valley Railroad alignment and therefore, several off-road alternatives would potentially have to be incorporated into the trail route. These roads could include South, Maxwell Station, Feeley and Iroquois Roads.

    The chief concern came from JCI, a Caledonia chemical plant whose production facility is adjacent to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. JCI’s Vice-President for Environmental and Regulatory Compliance, Tim Gaffney, attended the meeting and expressed the company’s concern with public access to the facility from a security standpoint.

   "JCI is very concerned from both a security and safety standpoint that this particular corridor would provide easy and unenforceable access to a chemical plant in a highly populated residential area. To have an open trail in this type of area defies all common sense and would be completely inappropriate. We were very glad to hear last night that the trail is no longer being considered to run through our property," Gaffney said.

   None of the farmers whose private property would be impacted by the trail extension attended the meeting.

   Barry Ganzhorn, a local wildlife and nature conservationist, attended and is very vocal in his opposition to the proposed trail extension. Ganzhorn doesn’t believe private property owners would agree to a trail through their land.

   Village of Caledonia Mayor Joe Caluorie told the website that he is not opposed to the idea of a trail coming to Caledonia but that the village could not fund such a venture at this time. Caluorie said he’d reserve his opinion until it was determined whether or not there is any grant funding available for the project.

   Caledonia Supervisor Dan Pangrazio said the town has no funding designated for such a project at the present time. He said he would consider the proposal more seriously if there was grant funding available and if local property owners affected by the trail agreed to it.

   Robert Torzynski, program manager with the Genesee Transportation office in Rochester, NY said the committee will proceed with a meeting for the public sometime in the month or two to obtain more specific opinions about the proposed trail extension.

 

Friends of Genesee Valley Greenway

http://www.fogvg.org/

 

Public Information Meeting Announcement

Lehigh Valley Trail, Genesee River to Caledonia Section
Feasibility Study

   A public meeting to solicit input on opportunities and issues related to the development of a prospective trail that would link the Village of Caledonia to the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 7:00 P.M. at the Caledonia Village Hall, 3095 Main St., Caledonia, NY 14423. Interested members of the public are invited to hear a presentation on trail alternatives and to offer comments related to trail feasibility and local and regional interest in the development of a multi-use trail along the route.

   The former Lehigh Valley Railroad corridor located in the Town and Village of Caledonia extends from the Village of Caledonia to the intersection of the existing Lehigh Valley Trail and the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail and was identified as a potential multi-use trail in the Regional Trails Initiative published by the Genesee Transportation Council in 2002. The prospective trail would link the Village of Caledonia to the existing Genesee Valley Greenway Trail and to the existing Lehigh Valley Trail which currently extends from the Genesee Valley Greenway through Monroe County to the Town of Victor in Ontario County.

   Lu Engineers was retained as the project consultant in 2006 and at the meeting will present an overview of the study and issues that would affect the project’s design and implementation. Public input is requested on the proposed project.

    For further information, please contact Frances Reese, Lu Engineers (377-1450 ext. 1219), or Robert Torzynski, Program Manager at the Genesee Transportation Council (232-6240).