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NYS Greenway Awards Grant to Philipstown to Study 9D Multi-Use Path
The New York State Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley has awarded a $5,000 grant to Philipstown to fund a feasibility, design, and cost study for capital improvements to the Hudson Fjord Bike/Hike Trail along Route 9D between Little Stony Point and Breakneck Station. Matching support will be provided by the Town of Philipstown and local volunteers. The announcement of the award was made March 14 by Greenway Executive Director Mary Mangione at the Hudson River Valley Greenway quarterly Joint Board meeting in Albany.
The feasibility study will be conducted by J. Robert Folchetti and Associates L.L.C., an engineering and planning firm based in Somers NY that has performed similar Greenway projects. The study will scope the construction, safety, and cost parameters of a capital project to include four infrastructure improvements to the Hudson Fjord Bike/Hike Trail: an improved parking lot at the Washburn trailhead opposite Little Stony Point; a multi-use pathway running parallel to but separated from Route 9D; an improved parking lot north of Breakneck Ridge in the Town of Fishkill; and improved disability access to Little Stony Point. The study will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. It will then be published and community discussion and comment will be solicited.
The Philipstown Greenway Committee applied for Greenway funding for the feasibility study in order to address longstanding community concerns about the safety of the thousands of recreationalists who employ the narrow shoulders and inadequate parking facilities along 9D to gain access to six popular hiking trails in Hudson Highlands State Park and to the beach at Little Stony Point, as well as for bicycle passage. As stated in the application by the Committee's principal grant writer, Robert Hutchinson: "The subject stretch of State Route 9D is heavily used in all seasons for recreational purposes, but under conditions that are unsafe, unregulated, inconvenient, and ugly."
These safety concerns are shared by officials of the Town of Philipstown, the Village of Cold Spring, the Town of Fishkill, the New York Department of Transportation, the Hudson Highlands State Park, the Little Stony Point Citizens Association, the Western Putnam Economic Development Council, and the Hudson River Valley Greenway, all of whom have endorsed the feasibility study. In recognition of its magnificent scenery and the fact that the Breakneck Ridge Trail has been polled the most popular day-hike in North America every year since 2002, the Hudson Fjord Bike/Hike Trail last year received provisional designation as part of the Greenway Trail system. Full designation is contingent on proof of remediation of the safety issues to Department of Transportation satisfaction.
"The support of Supervisor Mazzuca, the Philipstown Town Board, and Michael Gibbons of Putnam County Greenway has been a necessary and critical part of this application process," said Dr. Michael McKee, Philipstown Greenway Committee Chair. "We are looking forward to hearing public comment on these proposals when the study is complete. This area of the Hudson River is a popular destination for everyone who loves the outdoors. We want to make access to it easier and safer. We are particularly pleased that this Greenway project involves cooperation with the Town of Fishkill. The long-term economic potential of projects like this makes our area an even more attractive regional destination for air travelers as Stewart International Airport expands."
Michael Gibbons, the Putnam County representative to the Greenway Joint Board, said: "Hikers come from all over the Northeast during the hiking season and can be seen finding their way to the trails along the roadway, dangerously exposed to high-speed traffic as they pick their way past the long lines of cars parked on the shoulders. I also hope the study will look at the full spectrum of recreational opportunities at Little Stony Point."
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