C a n a l w a yT R A I L T I M E S

New Four-Mile Erie Canalway Trail Segmentin Lockport and Pendleton Complete

Winter 2015-16 Issue #37

The Canalway Trail offers recreational opportunitiesamidst the breathtaking scenery of Upstate New York

The Canal Corporation-Funded Project Helps Close aCritical Gap in the Erie Canalway Trail in Western New York

Trail enthusiasts are now able to enjoy a new four-mile Erie Canalway Trail segment from Stevens Street in the City of Lockport toFisk Road in Pendleton in Western New York. The project includes a new 180-foot pedestrian bridge crossing Tonawanda Creek,eliminating the need for bicyclists and pedestrians to use the existing New Road bridge to cross the Creek. A signed on-street link from Stevens Street to Erie Canal Locks 34 and 35 in Lockport was also installed.

The new 10-foot wide asphalt trail meanders along partially wooded spoil piles thatwere created when the current Erie Canal was excavated in the early 20thcentury. Parking with trail access has been constructed at StateStreet in Lockport and several informational kiosks were alsoinstalled along the trail. The $4 million project wasconstructed for the Canal Corporation by KeelerConstruction of Albion, New York.

The new trail segment will be officially openedwith a dedication event in the spring of 2016.

The project helps close a major gap in theErie Canalway Trail in Western NewYork and establishes a continuous130-mile trail route from Buffalo toLyons in Wayne County. Thesegment is part of the statewide,multi-use, Erie Canalway Traillinking the Hudson River andLake Erie. More thanthree-quarters of the360-mile Erie CanalwayTrail between Buffalo andAlbany is now complete.

Page 2 Canalway Trail Times

As 2016 begins, the work of building the Champlain Canal Trail(CCT) as a multi-use path that will link the Erie Canalway Trailwith Lake Champlain continues. Construction began last fall on ashort gap in Halfmoon, while design work is underway that willlead to construction of several miles of new trail in Waterford,Stillwater, Saratoga, and Kingsbury/Fort Ann. The trail is nowabout 25% available for public use (including secondary roadsdesignated by towns).

Perhaps the biggest success of 2015, however, was a June gatheringof more than 50 town supervisors, village mayors and other guestsfrom throughout the corridor to highlight progress, identify nextsteps and emphasize the benefits the trail will bring tocommunities. The CCT Supervisors/Mayors Meet-up was held

at Hudson Crossing Park and featured visits to completed sectionsof trail and lunch on the restored Dix Bridge. The gathering drewsignificant media coverage and a public commitment by both theTown and Village of Whitehall to complete the trail there, one ofthe most challenging segments along the route.

In August, the CCT Working Group also completed the 4thannual CCT Bicycle Tour, with more than 30 riders starting atLock 7 near Fort Edward, traveling along the Glens Falls FeederCanal, visiting the Five Combines (locks) of that historic canal,stopping for lunch in Fort Ann, and boarding the Caldwell Belle,operated by Mohawk Maiden Cruises, for the return to Lock 7 by water.

Canalway Trail Times is made possible by financial support from the New York State Canal Corporation.

Champlain Canalway Trail: Enthusiasm Grows for Completion

Cyclists visit the Five Combines Locksduring the Champlain Canal Tour

Mayors and Supervisors showsupport for the trail at a meetingon the historic Dix Bridge

Page 3 Canalway Trail Times

In 2015, with support from a grant from Empire State Development, Parks & Trails New York unveiled CycletheErieCanal.com, the firstsite entirely devoted to the Erie Canalway Trail. CycletheErieCanal.com combines existing resources – lodging and bike shop listings fromthe best-selling Cycling the Erie Canal guidebook, self-guided itineraries, and information about the annual bike tour – and newtrip-planning tools in one easy-to-use package.

New and enhanced features include:

Enhanced Interactive Erie Canalway Trail Map – optimized for use onsmart phones, the map now includes point-to-point bike and cardirections to help you find your way

Explore by Region and Explore by Interest pages– easily plan a day orweekend trip on a specific section of the trail or with your personalinterests in mind

Trail Travelers & Rider Reviews – get inspiration from other trail users

Trail Happenings – stay up-to-date with the latest news from the ECT

And there’s so much more – Be sure to visit CycletheErieCanal.com to plan your next Erie Canalway Trail adventure!

New Resources for Canalway Trail Users

Mud Creek Aqueduct, Macedon, WayneCounty (Photo courtesy of Dave Valvo)

Plan your next Canalway Trail visit at

CycletheErieCanal.com

Page 4 Canalway Trail Times

Trail enhancements by the Friends of Great Bear

What makes a day out on the Canalway Trail special? Well, there’s

great natural scenery and, of course working and historic Canal

infrastructure. A stop for lunch in a charming community or

at a canalside attraction never hurts, either.

But it’s really the people that make the Canalway Trail a unique and

enjoyable experience.

In 2015, the Canalway Trail community, including Trail Ambassadors

and Adopt-a-Trail groups, rolled out the welcome mat like never before.

The Adopt-a-Trail program, which enlists the help of community

groups to maintain local trail sections, expanded to 58 groups in 2015,

with several new groups in the Rochester area and the Capital Region.

Trail adopters now maintain over 120 miles of Canalway Trail. Adopters

also make enhancements such as this year’s installation of a

handicapped-accessible trail by the Friends of Great Bear.

Canalway Trail Ambassadors do their volunteering on the move. That is,

they provide assistance and a welcome to trail users while riding or

walking their local trail sections. Long-serving Ambassador groups in the

Rochester and Schenectady areas continued their great work, assisting

with directions and local tips, snapping photos, and sharing stories.

A new Ambassador in the Old Erie Canal State Park section of trail

brought great energy and a helpful spirit to trail users in Central New

York. Heading out from his base at the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat

Museum, Dave Kellogg logged 54 patrols from June to December.

Counting visits to local businesses and civic groups, Dave spent well

over 50 hours welcoming trail users and promoting trail use.

Thank you to all the members of the Canalway Trail community. Please

visit ptny.org for more information on volunteering.

New Trail AmbassadorDave Kellogg at theCedar Bay Bridge in Dewitt

Rolling Out the Welcome Mat

2016 Canal Clean SweepApril 22-24, 2016

Join us for the largestEarth Day celebration in New York State!

Register Today!

For more information, visit ptny.org, email canalsweep@ptny.org, or call 518-434-1583

SAVE THE DATE

Canalway Trail Times Page 5

Grants Will Fund Improvements to RecreationSites in Erie Canal CommunitiesThe New York State Canal Corporation recently announced that12 upstate municipalities will receive a total of $1 million in grantsfrom the Canal Corporation as part of the $2.25 billion in awardsthat Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional EconomicDevelopment Councils (REDC) are providing to spur economicgrowth throughout New York State.

“Governor Cuomo recognizes that New York’s Canal system andthe Canalway Trail are economic and recreational anchors forupstate,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U.Stratton. “The Canal system attracts everyone from outdoorenthusiasts to students of history and everything in between andthe grants we have provided to municipalities throughout upstateare vital to their growth.”

The grants in this program will support improvement projectsalong the Canal system across upstate New York. Each project willbenefit its respective municipality through investment in thefunctionality and beautification of areas surrounding the Canaland Canalway Trail, promoting recreation and tourism.

The Canal Corporation awards will support the following projects:

$37,000 awarded to the Village of Baldwinsville forimprovements to public boat launches at Mercer Park andCommunity Park.

$75,000 awarded to the Village of Brockport for phase one ofthe Brockport Rowing and Canal Development Project.

$70,000 awarded to the Village of Cazenovia to fund a car-toplaunch for kayaks and canoes along the Erie Canal at LakelandPark.

$30,000 awarded to the Village of Fonda for new Canalside Park.

$50,000 awarded to the Village of Fultonville for an extension toexisting docks.

$44,000 awarded to the Village of Green Island to complete animportant link in Erie Canalway Trail from the end of the BlackBridge to Cannon Street.

$100,000 awarded to the Town of Halfmoon for the installationof a car-top boat launch at Crescent Park.

$100,000 awarded to Montgomery County to pave two sectionsof the existing Erie Canalway Trail between Fort Hunter andthe Town of Root.

$150,000 awarded to the Town of Niskayuna for new publicrestrooms, increasing dock capacity and boat storage fornon-motorized water craft.

$124,000 awarded to the Village of Palmyra for docking wallextension.

$75,000 awarded to Schenectady County to resurface 2 miles ofexisting asphalt Erie Canalway Trail from Lock E-8 to theThruway exit 26 bridge over I-890.

$145,000 awarded to the Village of Waterloo for a trailconnection from the Oak Island Canal Port to South VirginiaStreet and downtown Waterloo.

Canal Corporation Announces Awards to UpstateMunicipalities through Governor Cuomo’s RegionalEconomic Development Initiative

Canalway Trail Times Page 6

2015 marked the 11th annual trail count conducted by the New York State Canal Corporation and Parks & Trails New York. Trail counts areconducted with the help of local volunteers, in order to develop a comprehensive picture of trail use throughout the Canalway Trail System.

This year trail counts were conducted on the Erie Canalway Trail(ECT) in seven locations. At four of these locations, electroniccounters were used to record trail use. Traditional volunteer countsoccurred at three locations. At these physical count locations,volunteers also surveyed trail users to learn more about how and whythey use the trail.

2015 Trail Counts Document aBusy Year on the Canalway Trail

Location EstimatedAnnual Traffic

Niawanda Park, Tonawanda 183,419

Bushnell’s Basin, Perinton 145,650

Palmyra Canal Harbor 31,711

Cedar Bay Park, Dewitt 155,602

Lock 20 Canal Park, Marcy 49,424

Rause Road, Ft. Plain 15,607

Corning Preserve, Albany 156, 714

*Tonawanda figures based on full-year electronic count, rather than estimates

Estimated annual trail use2015 Canalway Trail Count Locations

An organized Sunday runon the trail east of Syracuse

*

Palmyra trail count and survey

Bicyclists Walkers Joggers Other

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Canalway Trail Times Page 7

Register as an End-to-Ender at CycletheErieCanal.com!

“We bicycled from Ludington, Michigan to Brooklyn, NewYork. Watching the fall colors unfold and learning aboutthe history of the Erie Canal along the way were highlights.The designated camping grounds at the locks werewonderful!”

— Caito Bowles-Roth and Thomas Dixon,Minneapolis, MN

“I chose to become an End-to-Enderpartly for exercise, partly for thepersonal challenge, and partlybecause I wanted to see the Erie Canaland experience Upstate New York.”

— Jerry Mattern, Brockport, NY

“I chose to become an End-to-Ender because I’m an eighthgrade history teacher and I wanted to gather knowledge andthe history of the Erie Canal to teach my students in class.”

— Paul Henderson, Newmarket, NH“It was a spectacular trip! We enjoyed the quiet trails alongside theworking canal, particularly Lockport to Lyons. We visited every lockwe could find and stopped at every historic site and museum.”

— Robert Hickman and Charlotte Cohen, Brooklyn, NY

589 registered End-to-Enders in 2015

Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, and 37 U.S. states represented

3 End-to-Enders completed trail on foot in 2015

2,383 End-to-Enders since 2012

End-to-End on the Erie Canalway Trail – A Historic Achievement!

29 Elk StreetAlbany, New York 12207

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 118

Albany, NY

Mark Your Calendars for the18th Annual Cycle the Erie CanalBike Tour - July 10-17, 2016Each summer, Parks & Trails New York offers great cycling, wonderfulscenery, and the history of the Erie Canal through the fully-supported,Cycle the Erie Canal bike tour. The 2015 tour brought more than 600cyclists to the Erie Canalway Trail – the largest group ever!

Join riders from near and far for the 18th annual Cycle the Erie Canaltour, July 10-17, 2016.

From the moment you begin in Buffalo to the festive finish line inAlbany – and everywhere in between – you’ll experience the people,history, and charm that make the Erie Canalway Trail special. This year’sride will take cyclists over historic aqueducts, by locks and other historicCanal infrastructure, and through dozens of charming Canal towns.

Beyond the great scenery and warm, Upstate welcome for which thetour is known, recent enhancements have made the ride even better:

End-of-tour shuttle from Albany to Buffalo: Less driving means more time to discover the Erie Canal.

Cycle the Erie Canal Jersey: A must-have souvenir fromthe ride, the 2016 Cycle the Erie Canal jersey features an1852 watercolor of Little Falls and an 1896 Erie Canal map.

Four-day and Weekend Options: Same great cycling,tailored to your busy schedule.

Registration for Cycle the Erie Canal is now open.

Visit CycletheErieCanal.com for more informationand to register.

The New York State Canal Corporation has been proud to be the leadsponsor of this event since 2000.