the state Department of Transportation suspended $667,000 in grant funding<\/a> to the railroad because the organization submitted its application without the required signature from the county.\u00a0<\/p>\nPutting the cart before the horse<\/p>\n
Several critics, including both lawmakers and residents, have asked the legislature to put the resolution on hold until the county\u2019s rail corridor study is complete.<\/p>\n
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County lawmakers just awarded the $77,440 contract to Barton &\u00a0Lojuidice, an Albany-based engineering firm, in October. The study will include a full cost comparison of trail-only, rail-only, and rail-with-trail options; an analysis of critical corridor features, including wetlands and the Route 28A crossing; environmental and sound impact assessments; land-use considerations, including zoning, parcel size and land swap potential; preliminary depot concept planning, including parking and acreage needs; and an analysis of public input and stakeholder perspectives.<\/p>\n
As a result of a 2013 lawsuit filed by the railroad, the legislature adopted a policy in 2015 where certain parts of the corridor would be rail-only, certain parts would be trail-only, and the county would investigate if other parts could be converted into \u201crail with trail.\u201d<\/p>\n
The section running along the Ashokan Reservoir was designated as trail-only, according to the resolution. This section opened as the Ashokan Rail Trail in 2019.<\/p>\n
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The Ashokan Rail Trail in West Hurley overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir on Oct. 8, 2023.<\/p>\n
Maria M. Silva\/Times Union<\/p>\n
The section running west from Kingston, where the railroad company has been running tourist trains, would be \u201cco-located with public trail wherever feasible,\u201d according to the resolution. The section from this point to the beginning of the Ashokan Reservoir \u201cwill require further investigation on the future feasibility of rail with trail.\u201d The study by Barton & Loguidice will focus on this 1.8-mile section; the firm will deliver a final report to the legislature by July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t know why they are so adamant on pushing this through,\u201d Hunt said, adding that he felt the decision should wait until after the study is completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bridge is not part of the study because it is not part of the undesignated section, Collins said at the\u00a0Dec. 4 committee meeting. This means that whether the new bridge can support rail is irrelevant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat section is designated entirely trail,\u201d he said, referring to the west side of the bridge. \u201cWe\u2019re not ever going to get a train across Basin Road. So it does not need to be a train bridge; it needs to be a pedestrian bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a Nov. 25 letter to the Housing and Transportation Committee, Hunt requested that the railroad be allowed to raise the bridge so that it can be \u201creturned to rail use\u201d and allow \u201cadditional room for longer trains at the future Basin Road terminal.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Proposed by the railroad in 2024, the terminal would be built at the end of the undesignated section near the Ashokan Reservoir. In other words, to connect to the new terminal from its existing route, the railroad would need rights to the 1.8-mile undesignated section that is currently under debate. Removing the bridge without a formal agreement between the abutting landowners could \u201csabotage\u201d the railroad\u2019s expansion plans, Hunt said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rush to remove the bridge is just to block our progress and not rational,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the letter, Hunt went on to say that keeping the bridge and rail alignment \u201cpreserves the option for rail-with-trail west of Basin Road\u201d\u00a0\u2014 something that would go against the county\u2019s existing policy of trail-only use for that section.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the county implements and constructs rail-with-trail from Basin Road to Kingston, the thought of taking this combination west would certainly be viewed much more favorably if the NYC DEP consents,\u201d Hunt wrote, adding that the railroad has \u201cno current plans\u201d to expand west of the bridge.<\/p>\n
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Both Collins and Legislator Eric Stewart indicated at the Dec. 4 meeting that the DEP is unlikely to permit rail use west of the bridge at any point in the future.<\/p>\n
The legislature\u2019s vote comes during one of the railroad\u2019s busiest times of the year. About 3,000 people had ridden the railroad\u2019s \u201cPolar Express\u201d ride by the Nov. 18 meeting, railroad employee Harrison Balduf said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings joy to my heart to see these children smiling ear to ear,\u201d Sherret Chase of Olive told the board. \u201cYou take away the bridge, you take away the railroad, you take away the joy from children. You\u2019re a bunch of scrooges.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to attracting tourists, the railroad also serves as one of Kingston\u2019s largest youth employers.\u00a0High school student Matthew Lundy described the decision to remove the bridge as \u201crushed, unnecessary and a disservice to the people of Ulster County.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe railroad is consistently one of the biggest assets to the local economy,\u201d he said. \u201cI am one of 50 students per year employed by the Polar Express \u2026 In 2024, the railroad brought 60,000 riders to Ulster County.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Betsy Blair, of\u00a0Hurley, doesn\u2019t see removing the bridge as the end of the railroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s presented as a disaster, but I don\u2019t believe it is,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can have both a railroad and a useful, safe trail connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
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