There’s only a few more weeks to enjoy recreational trails throughout the region without snowshoes or cross-country skis. Now, hikers and bikers in Saratoga and Warren Counties will see some of their favorite trails expanded or improved as new grants give a boost to several projects.
The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors this week announced $100,000 in grants included in this year’s budget that will go to trail projects throughout the county. Board chair Matthew Veitch:
“And they’re for trails from the town of Corinth to the City of Saratoga Springs, to the City of Mechanicville so we kind of covered the entire county from north to south with our grant program,” said Veitch.
Eight projects will be supported by matching grants of $12,500. Veitch said the trail improvements are important to ensuring quality of life in a fast-growing county.
“You know, the county is growing with suburban development and other kinds of development. To kind of balance that with good recreational opportunities and trails is really a great thing for Saratoga County and something we should keep doing this year and years into the future,” said Veitch.
A trail project in Corinth that has been in the works several years will get a boost. The joint project between the Town and Village of Corinth will connect a new train depot with the village upper reservoir property.
Village mayor Dennis Morreale…
“The village has about 500 acres on our reservoir property that we are going to use for recreational purposes and what we’d like to do is join the train station with the reservoir property, and then looking at bringing another trail form the train station back into the village.”
The trail project comes after major repairs made to the reservoir dam. Corinth Town Supervisor Richard Lucia…
“It’s a family place to hike, to nature walk, to cross-country, a beautiful spot for kids to fish. We’re going to enhance that.”
On the other end of the spectrum is a connector trail in Saratoga Springs that will connect South Broadway with the Greenbelt Trail.
It was also announced this week that the Warren County Town of Queensbury will receive a $100,000 state grant to develop a recreational trail along Halfway Brook. The proposed project, in cooperation with the City of Glens Falls, would build two parking lots and connect Aviation and Peggy Ann Roads, and would also connect to the town’s popular Rush Pond Way trail.
Town Supervisor John Strough…
“Every season offers its own beauty and they love it. It’s easy to traverse, they love it. You can do it on bicycle, you can do it walking, you can take your pets with you. So now we want to create a Halfway Brook trail. We’re negotiating, going about that. The city’s looked on that very favorably. And we’re working with the city because it goes through their watershed. And it goes over the famous Halfway Brook.”
To view a full list of the Saratoga County trail projects click here
