Little Consensus on Auburn Trail Extension
The Town of Victor held a third public meeting on the Auburn Trail Extension. Thirty people spoke, almost all addressing the design for a 3000-foot section from the "Collapsed Culvert" (just NW of Fishers Road) to Railroad Mill Road. After a year and extensive public and private discussion, there is no satisfactory compromise in sight.
Most rail-to-trail conversions are non-controversial. Of course, some guardians of the public purse will protest spending tax money and there will be some NIMBY (not in my back yard) opposition. The Auburn Trail Extension has been an entirely different proposition. There is extensive and well-organized opposition that can turn out speakers at hearings and generate news media coverage. You can check out the opposition web site at http://www.saveauburntrail.org
So what is different about the Auburn Trail Extension?
Most conversions take an unused rail right-of-way and build a new trail where one did not exist before. The controversial section of the Auburn Trail Extension has been used by individuals and organized groups for decades. One of the speakers at the December 8th public meeting read a brief description of the trail from seventy years ago. For those individuals and groups, the proposed improvements threaten to change a trail they know and love just as it is today.
Unfortunately for the Town of Victor, the community and the trail, something appears to have gone very wrong in the design process for the Trail Extension. Perhaps the consultants running the process for the Town of Victor were slow to realize that the trail already had an extensive user community; perhaps they were slow to realize the special nature of the environmental area between the Collapsed Culvert and Railroad Mill Road. Perhaps the user groups were slow to see the opportunities that an improved trail could present in making a special area more accessible to the public and didn't initially understand the funding realities of trail projects.
In any case, the various groups opposing a conventional multi-use trail through that section report being disrespected at meetings, misrepresented in the media by representatives of the consulting firm and the Town of Victor and claim that the Town has not done an adequate environmental impact study of the project.
The consulting firm and Town proposes a six-foot stone dust trail for the controversial section. This is presented as the minimum width that will qualify for Federal Funding, be wide enough for bicycles to pass safely, and be ADA (American with Disabilities Act) compliant.
The Coalition recommends, instead, that the Town highlight the preserve the existing trail section and highlight it as a unique natural destination with interpretive signs and educational programs. They propose the trail should no wider than the 3-foot width that is required by the ADA.
At the conclusion of the public meeting, the public remained at loggerheads. Based on the applause following speakers, it looked like about half the overflow crowd supported the Coalition position and the other half supported the Town's proposed 6-foot trail improvement. The next step belongs to the Town of Victor to either make a choice or work out a compromise with the Coalition. Stay tuned...
Background
A section of the trail extension goes through a wetland section of the Irondequoit Creek Valley on an elevated railway bed. Area runners have used a single-track trail on the former railway bed for many years as a short cut to Fishers. The trail bypasses the big climb on Railroad Mills from Irondequoit Creek up to Fishers Road and a less steep drop back down to the Creek on Fishers Road. (The 20% grade up to Fishers Road is well known to veterans of the Freezeroo "Hearnish 10K" at Power Mills Park.)
The wetland section through which the trail passes is adjacent to an Audubon Sanctuary and has a natural feel despite having been a rail line in the distant past. Several environmental and nature groups, a neighborhood association and the Oven Door Runners have all requested design modifications for the section through the wetlands, i.e., from the Collapsed Culvert to Railroad Mills Road.
GRTC Position
The position of the Board is summarized in the following points:
- The GRTC supports the Auburn Trail Extension Project. A public trail connecting Power Mills Park to the Auburn Trail at Fishers will be a valuable addition to the Rochester network of trails.
- The Collapsed Culver to Railroad Mills Road section crosses a sensitive environment area that provides a valuable natural experience in its own right. The trail through that section should thought of as a destination to promote as well as providing a connection between Power Mills Park and Fishers.
- The GRTC supports an alternative design no wider than six feet for the Collapsed Culvert to Railroad Mills Road section as a best compromise between safety and access requirements and minimizing the environmental impact of the trail. A six-foot path will enable two cyclists to pass safely while leaving enough room atop the elevated railway bed for bird watchers and dog walkers to safely stand off the trail.
Notes: The project web site is here: http://www.auburntrail.com/extension/index.html. The design alternatives can be found here: http://www.auburntrail.com/extension/alternatives.htm.
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