RAPID CONSTRUCTION
Geyser Road Trail project moving ahead of schedule
The Spa City is making connections with its newest trail.
Construction is underway on the Geyser Road Trail, which is expected to open later this year.
Located in the southwest section of Saratoga Springs, the paved multi-use trail stretches approximately two miles alongside Geyser Road from the Town of Milton line to the Saratoga Spa State Park.
This bike and pedestrian trail has been a longtime effort for residents like Molly Gagne, founder, and president of the Southwest Neighborhood Association of Saratoga Springs.
The association was formed in 2003 when residents identified needed neighborhood improvements. The largest issue
was how to make the city’s southwest neighborhood more bike and pedestrianfriendly.
About 20 percent of the city’s population lives in this area, including a large number of youth residents.
“This is probably the largest pool of affordable houses in Saratoga Springs, so you’ve got, through the years, a lot of young families started here,” Gagne said. “A lot of children, a lot of small children, and yet you have this situation where you couldn’t go for a bike ride anywhere but within the neighborhood, unless you put the bikes in the car.”
In the 46 years that Gagne has lived in the neighborhood, the Geyser Road corridor has changed immensely.
With increased development along this road, safety became a concern for Gagne and other local residents.
“It used to be that it was no problem for someone to ride their bike or walk down Geyser Road, but because of all the extreme development out to the west of us, and the impact of the semis from the industrial park and all - it’s just a natural growth that happens with a city, but it did change the whole safety factor of Geyser Road,” she said.
“It’s changed a lot, but you have to adapt to change and make sure that the changes are done so that we can continue our quality of life,” Gagne continued. “Being trapped by a busy road is not good quality, so now we’re going to be free.”
More than a decade ago Gagne and some of her neighbors took initiative and began the process of addressing this issue.
With donations from throughout the community, the association funded its own feasibility study to evaluate the idea of creating a path for cyclists and pedestrians.
“We didn’t really need a scenic trail, we needed a transportation trail,” Gagne said.
The result of the study was that it all made sense, Gagne said. There was no reason a trail couldn’t be built along the north side of Geyser Road.
However, constructing a miles-long trail is a big and costly project, so the neighborhood association proposed the idea to the city government about 10 years ago.
The city then took leadership on this project, for which it was able to apply for grant funding.
The total project cost is $3.7 million. This budget includes not only the trail, but intersection improvements at Geyser Road and Route 50 such as a new northbound turn lane off of Geyser Road and a safe pedestrian crossing system, as well as the addition of two Capital District Transportation Authority bus stops.
All of these changes are meant to improve travel conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, truck driver and regular motorists in the southwest section of the city.
“It’s really remarkable that three construction projects have been coordinated simultaneously to build much-needed new infrastructure for the community,” Gagne said.
The majority, 80 percent, of the expenses for this multifaceted project was covered by federal funding, and the remaining 20 percent was paid for with local funds.
Additionally, the Saratoga Spa State Park extended its own trail system to connect with the Geyser Road Trail across Route 50.
“There were a lot of moving parts and it’s taken many years, but to a great extent all those moving parts really came together well and made for a very efficient project,” the city’s Administrator of Planning & Economic Development Bradley Birge said.
Though it’s been a long process, Gagne said that city officials have always unanimously supported the Geyser Road Trail project, as have many other community members. “Everybody we talked to was very supportive,” she said. “It was just amazing.”
Construction finally began on the trail late last fall and continued this spring even throughout the pandemic shutdown as an essential transportation project.
After years of waiting for this trail to become a reality, “They’ve moved along at lightning speed,” Gagne said of the ongoing construction. “It just seems to be coming together so quickly.”
Birge confirmed that the project is indeed moving ahead of schedule. Originally expected to wrap up in late fall of 2020, he said it may be completed sooner, in late summer or early fall.
Some local residents who are eager to get out on the trail have been testing out what’s built so far. “On weekends I see already walkers and joggers and a few bicycles, on the pieces of trail that are already finished,” Gagne said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Though the trail is not yet formally open, “There’s lots of folks who are taking advantage of it right now,” Birge said. “It’s good to see that there’s a lot of demand there for it.”
In the past few years, a number of new neighbors specifically purchased their new home because it was going to be in close proximity to the Geyser Road Trail, according to Gagne.
“That is a perfect indicator that access to trails attracts people looking for a healthier lifestyle,” she said. “The Geyser Road Trail was already presenting that healthy opportunity, even before the current construction began!”
As soon as the project is fully completed, Saratoga Springs and the Saratoga Spa State Park will plan a celebration to mark the trail’s official opening.
The main purpose of the Geyser Road Trail is to increase accessibility between the southwest neighborhood and the rest of the city.
“It is exciting. Geyser Crest area, that corridor, has about 20 percent of our population, and so it’s a great connection to the city, this trail,” Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly said, noting how residents from that area will be able to more easily travel by foot or bike to Veterans Memorial Park, Saratoga Spa State Park, South Broadway, and downtown. “It’s very connected. It connects them now to the city.
“That’s the exciting piece, for all of those people that live out there.”
Birge agreed that this project is focused on connecting the city. “It’s really all about connections - making safe pathways so that people can get to the park, people can get to the schools, get to a very rapidly developing trail network system throughout the city,” he said.
The construction of this trail comes at a time when people have been increasingly utilizing local parks and trails as a way to get outdoors during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“It really emphasizes what a phenomenal resource it is, both for local residents to be able to use it, but also as an attraction. People want to get into Saratoga Springs because there are a lot of things to do, a lot of outdoor activities, and this just helps build it,” Birge said.
“The City of Saratoga Springs has made it a priority to expand access to the outdoor resources, and the progress this summer on the Geyser Road Trail is a terrific example of that work in action,” Kelly said in a statement.
The Geyser Road Trail is the newest segment of a larger city initiative called the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail, a visionary shareduse path that forms a continuous loop connecting the city of Saratoga Springs.
To create the 24-mile trail, the city is working to link currently existing trail segments - Spring Run Trail, Railroad Run Trail, Bog Meadow Trail, and the trails in the Saratoga Spa State Park - with new segments currently in development such as the Geyser Road Trail, Downtown Connector Trail, Crescent Avenue, and the Downtown Extender.
More information about the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail can be found online at www.saratoga-springs.org/2425/SaratogaGreenbelt-Trail.