City to restore long-defunct trail
Officials: Work would reconnect Prospect Park to Little Italy, South Troy
TROY, N.Y. >> The city of Troy, with help from the National Park Service and a pair of local community organizations, will restore a long- defunct, half-mile walking trail in the southwest corner of Prospect Park.
When complete, according to Mayor Patrick Madden, the trail will reconnect the peak of the 80acre city park to the Little Italy and South Troy neighborhoods and expand the park’s trail system.
“Amenities like Troy’s Prospect Park provide unique opportunities for residents and families to enjoy the outdoors right in our city’s own backyard,” Madden said in a news release. “The effort to revitalize this former trail will increase direct access for our diverse neighborhoods to one of Troy’s most valued recreational spaces and further reveal the natural beauty of our city.”
The restoration effort will begin with a trail cleanup day on May 13 in cooperation with the Friends of Prospect Park, the National Park Service’s Rivers & Trails Program and the Little Italy Quality of Life Committee.
“The city is thrilled to work with such valued community and federal partners to complete this important improvement effort,” Madden said.
Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. May 13 on Hill Street between Adams and Jefferson streets and are asked to bring gloves, pruning shears, rakes and any other tools that may be helpful in clearing the trail. Pants and long-sleeve shirts are recommended and participants are advised to bring bug repellent, though drinking water will be provided. In the instance of inclement weather, the cleanup will take place the following Saturday, May 20.
Karl Beard, upstate project director for the National Park Service Rivers & Trails Program, said a great deal of work is needed to reclaim the trail, but he has been impressed with the interest in the adjoining Little Italy and South Troy neighborhoods. He said that interest made it easy for the federal agency to provide hands- on assistance in restoring and maintaining this trail.
“People in Troy are lucky to have such great parks, urban trails and natural areas right near their doorsteps,” Beard said in
the release. “My hope for the city is that this is just the start.”
Steven Strichman, the city’s commissioner of planning and economic development, said that while the park is a significant recreational asset for the city, it had lost its connection to the adjacent neighborhoods to the west.
“We are clearing this trail to again offer residents an easy 10 minute walk from downtown to the park’s summit, through a scenic natural setting with spectacular views of Troy and the Hudson Valley,” Strichman said.
That access was welcomed by Sam Chiappone, chairman of the Troy Little Italy Quality of Life Committee.
“The revitalization of the path is a welcome addition to the Little Italy neighborhood,” Chiappone said in the release. “The path will once again allow residents the opportunity to use a walking nature trail to access the park from our neighborhood.”
Restoration of the trail will add to a growing network of walking, hiking and biking trails throughout the city, including the Uncle Sam Bikeway, the 24-acre Staalesen Preserve in South Troy and several other urban trails and walkways. For more information on the Prospect Park project, call the city’s Planning Department at 279-7392.