TIME TO RIDE
Uncle Sam Trail officially opens
TROY, N.Y. » After many years of planning, local officials finally cut the ribbon on the Uncle Sam Trail on Wednesday in downtown Troy.
The ceremony marked the completion of phase one of the Uncle Sam Trail extension project. Representatives from the city, county, Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Transport Troy, Capital District Transportation Authority, Capital Roots and Troy Housing Authority were all in attendance, along with local cyclists, to celebrate the occasion.
With this project, the city of Troy adds approximately 3.5 miles of pedestrian and bi- cycle transportation routes between the Menands Bridge and Middleburgh Street to connect with the existing Uncle Sam Trail, providing a direct link between the city’s South Troy and Lansingburgh neighborhoods.
Now with this connection, people in the city of Troy will be able to more easily access the Watervliet to Albany trail on the other side of the river.
The new section of the trail features a combination of shared traffic routes and dedicated bike lanes.
The project is part of city’s ongoing efforts to expand alternative transportation options and strengthen Troy’s existing transportation network for residents and visitors.
Funded through a Federal
Highway Administration ( FHWA) transportation grant, the construction of the Uncle Sam Trail extension was originally funded in 2001 through a federal surface transportation enhancement act known as TEA-21. The program authorized federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and transit projects.
Though the money was secured under a different city leadership, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden expressed his gratitude to strong community advocates including Joe Pama, who has been involved with the project since the early 1990s, for helping restore the majority of the funds to this local project.
“The trail itself is a terrific example of citizen engagement,” the mayor said, thanking those involved. “Committed residents working hand in hand with the city administration brought this to fruition today and without their experience, their passion, their guidance, it would have been difficult for the city to resurrect this project and bring it across the finish line.”
Madden added, “Hopefully this is just the beginning of bike trails connecting Troy and other communities.”
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin also spoke in support of the project at Wednesday’s ceremony, mentioning the possibility of extending the trail south in Rensselaer County. McLaughlin said it’s already evident that bike trails are gaining in popularity and that the Uncle Sam Trail extension is going to be well used. “This is a whole lot of people working hard, together, for a lot of years,” he said. Though the project seemed stagnant for a while, “Now these ideas of bike trails are growing rapidly all over the place and it’s becoming a little easier, maybe, to get things done. That is hopefully a good sign for us, as we try to extend this.”
Thinking ahead, McLaughlin said, “How incredible would it be to connect this down to the city of Rensselaer and maybe even a little further down past that into Castleton and Schodack?”
The county executive continued, “We have an incredible riverfront here in Rensselaer County, much of it underutilized. But trails like this, this is an awesome addition.”