NEW TRAILHEAD
Collar City receives $400K grant to create connection to Empire State Trail
TROY, N.Y. » The Collar City recently received a $400,000 grant to create its first official connection to the recently completed Empire State Trail, Mayor Patrick Madden announced.
The grant is provided from the Hudson River Valley Greenway to create a separated trail across the Green Island Bridge that will link the Collar City’s existing urban bike and pedestrian trail network to the 750-mile statewide system that runs from Buffalo and the Canadian border in the north, to New York City.
“Recent expansions of our local trail system have created valuable amenities for public enjoyment. Construction of this new trailhead to connect our downtown waterfront to the Empire State Trail will help support recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to explore all that Troy has to offer.
This project is the first of several possible local connections to the Empire State Trail, opening the way for Troy to benefit from some of the $275 million pumped into New York’s economy by trail users each year,” Madden said in a press release, thanking the Hudson River Valley Greenway for recognizing this important linkage between the city of Troy and the statewide trail system.
The grant, which has no local match requirement, will create a trailhead at the Green Island Parking Lot, located in Troy immediately north of the Green Island Bridge. The project will directly connect Troy’s Riverwalk to the Empire State Trail by installing a protected bicycle and pedestrian trail on the northern side of the bridge.
In addition to linking the city’s trail network to the Empire State Trail, the project will also establish the first portion of a loop trail around the Hudson River, linking three Capital Region communities.
The loop trail was identified as a priority by Troy and Watervliet residents in the recently completed Congress Street Bridge Study; funding for this project was identified by the city’s consultant, Alta Planning + Design. The 2.5-mile loop will run through Watervliet, Green Island and Troy, utilizing the Congress Street and Green Island Bridges.
Since 2016, the city of Troy has completed several projects to expand or improve the city’s existing bike and pedestrian trail network, including the southern expansion of the city’s bike trail between the TroyMenands Bridge and the Troy Rail Trail, repaving the northern section of the Troy Rail Trail, and completion of the Riverwalk in downtown Troy.
In 2021, the city of Troy is partnering with the Troy Industrial Development Agency and Capital Resource Corporation to begin the design of the Lansingburgh portion of the Riverfront Trail.
This latest expansion to Troy’s bike and pedestrian trail network along First Avenue in north Troy will run between 111th and 123rd streets, creating a direct link between historic Powers Park, the 123rd Street Boat Launch, and eventually to the Waterford Bridge and the Empire State Trail. This project is intended to create a safe corridor for recreation, with scenic river overlooks at roughly one-block intervals, on city-owned land.