Trails and Rails

I've recently received a lot of information about an Bethlehem and Albany Rail trail. As anyone I have talked to about this knows - I am a big supporter of the concept. A converted rail trail is a great idea for exercise and even bike commuting. Coupled with improvements to the mass transportation system it could really help to take a lot of cars off the road. That's good for the environment and for consumer's pocketbooks - both of which have to be something we think about all the time.

Unfortunately, as with other things in this world making it happen is not as easy as saying, "lets do it." In truth, there is a lot of work that will need to be done to:

• plan for the best method of environmentally sensitive paving,
• explore options for helping to maintain safety and security of foot and bike traffic and
• come to an understanding of how to effectively secure a trail that might cross several government jurisdictions.

And there will also be the issue of figuring out who will own the trail - the County or the town.

It will take some time to work out these details, but we will get them done. I committed to making it happen and it will. I have spoken to some of my colleagues on the Town Board and they agree with me on this.