The steep set of stairs at Lock 32 in Pittsford is no more.  The stairs are being replaced by the gradual ramp that can be seen in the photo below.  Grading of the ramp looks to be complete and a gravel base has been laid in preparation for paving.    The work should be completed well before the Rochester Marathon, eliminating the need for a surface street crossing of Clover Street.  Once the ramp is open to traffic, the marathon route will be recertified.

In early June I took a ride down to Fishers to check out the status of the Auburn Trail between Fishers Road and Railroad Mills Road.  Regular readers will recall that this section of the proposed multi-use trail 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 over Irondequoit Creek to Railroad Mills Road.  The multi-use trail project is currently on hold awaiting completion of an environmental impact study later this year. 

I had heard that the existing single-track trail had been blocked at the Collapsed Culvert (1000 feet from Fishers Road and 3000 feet from Railroad Mills Road.  As you can see in the left photo below, a substantial chain link fence has been installed to discourage thru traffic on the trail.  Some runners and hikers, when faced by an obstacle they can’t get over, have found a way to go around the ends of the fence (as shown in the right photo below).

Fence Blocking Auburn Trail Extension	Bypass Around End of Fence