Cleanup of rail trail slated before opening
Volunteers will clean up the Kingston Point Rail Trail on June 1 to help get the path ready for its grand opening.
Volunteers will clean up the Kingston Point Rail Trail to help get the path ready for its grand opening this summer.
The city of Kingston and the Kingston Land Trust will host a site cleanup Saturday, June 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., according to a press release. In the event of rain, the cleanup will take place Sunday, June 9.
The cleanup will prepare the trail for opening by removing debris from the banks of the pathway, primarily in the areas behind the Rondout Savings Bank and on the stretch between Rondout Gardens and Delaware Avenue.
“We are so excited to open the trail this summer, and beforehand to get rid of decades of trash on this abandoned rail corridor,” Mayor Steve Noble said in the release.
Volunteers will gather at 9:30 a.m. at the Jansen Street Trailhead behind the Walgreens store on Broadway and then traverse the trail, picking up trash and recyclables. The volunteers will be provided with trash bags, but are encouraged to also bring gloves and wheelbarrows. Parking is available at the Rondout Savings Bank’s employee parking lot on East Chester Street during the cleanup event.
The city’s Department of Public Works will pick up and dispose of all refuse found along the trail.
The Kingston Point Rail Trail, which has recently been paved, is not yet open to the public because it is still an active construction site. Ongoing work includes completing the trailheads, as well as installing furniture, landscape plantings, electrical connections, fencing and crossings. The grand opening of the trail will take place this summer.
“As well as providing a place to play and exercise, the KPRT (Kingston Point Rail Trail) is a key section of the Kingston Greenline that will give all of our residents and visitors a safe transportation corridor where they can enjoy nature within our city,” Kingston Land Trust Board Chairwoman Sarah Brainard said in the release. “We are thankful for all of the time committed to the development of this trail by volunteers, neighbors, and municipalities and we are excited to co-host this clean up to prepare for public use.”
To RSVP for the cleanup, visit www.facebook.com/ events/434975397328773.