ORCHARD PARK
Rail-to-trail vote expresses support for path project
A vote by the Orchard Park Town Board in support of transforming a rail corridor to a public trail does not signal the project is moving forward.
New York State is not ready to ask towns along the 27-mile-long corridor if they want the trail, said Erik Kulleseid, deputy commissioner for open space for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Councilwoman Nancy Ackerman said she viewed the town resolution as expressing interest in looking into the rail-to- trail project.
“We’ve already created a firestorm by having done that,” she said.
“What you have done to date does not constitute approval,” Kulleseid said Wednesday night at a Town Board work session.
The state is looking at converting a section of the former Buffalo & Pittsburgh rail line into a multiuse trail. The section starts in the Village of Orchard Park and runs through Aurora, Colden, Concord, Springville and Ashford Junction.
The proposal has its fervent supporters, as well as opponents, including many whose homes are adjacent to the proposed trail.
Kulleseid said the state is starting to undertake its “due diligence” on the proposal, which includes examining the property and its amenities, such as bridges, looking into possible environmental contamination and coming to terms on a price.
“We could be another year with due diligence,” he said.
Kulleseid said he would return to the communities if and when the state has a sense that it would be feasible to acquire the property for a trail. And while the state appreciates the town’s vote of support, it does not affect the investigation into the project, he said.
He said money from the state Environmental Protection Fund would be used to purchase the property.
“If a town does in fact oppose it, by resolution, we cannot spend environmental funds in that town,” Kulleseid said.
It could be possible to develop the trail in one town and not another, but it depends on whether the railroad would want to sell part of its property, he said. And should the trail be established, there would be no cost to the municipality unless it agreed to it, he added.
Some towns and villages might want to develop the trail in their community, or manage it, and use grants or taxpayer funds, Kulleseid said. Nonprofit groups also might want to be involved.
Kulleseid said he would not expect police costs to increase for the area.
He also said each community would have great influence on how the trail would be developed in its town and what uses would be allowed on it. One section might be paved, one might be dirt, while another might be grass, he said.
“We have no preconceived notions,” Kulleseid said.
But plans will also depend on the availability of funding.
“The amount of capital available will partly determine the type of trail,” he said.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of apprehension on both sides of this issue,” Ackerman said, adding the town wants to explore the options without having to make a commitment.
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