Last weekend, my partner and I (and our dog Zoe) walked most of the length of the Hojack Trail. The trail is about 8 miles round trip, so it would be a short bike ride, but it would be nice to do with kids or with someone new to cycling.

You could also combine it with other trails in the Webster Trails system. If you go to that web page and click on trails, you’ll see an overview map of the whole system.

The sections east of Klem Road abut the backyards of several new developments, which I didn’t enjoy nearly as much as the more wooded sections to the West. The trail is fairly narrow, much more so than the Genesee Greenway, for example. It’s a dirt trail, maybe a tiny bit rocky. (It can be hard to tell on foot vs. bike, but I’m pretty sure I would enjoy cycling it.)

If you go back in about 4-6 weeks, you might find some fruits on these wild strawberries (although I suspect the critters will get to them before any humans can, if my garden is any indication).

This was on the Albany Bicycle Coalition mailing list today:

I wanted to update you on the progress of the Friends of the Rail Trail group I’ve been helping to get organized. Jack Madden and I have been working with the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy (MHLC) to get a Friends Group started. So at least for the short term, the Friends group, which will most likely be called the Friends of the Hudson-Helderberg Rail Trail (FOHHRT is the acronym I like; calling it “fort” for short), has been created as a committee of the MHLC.

We can really use more volunteers who want to help with the friends group, especially folks who live in Albany and Voorheesville or New Scotland areas; most of our current volunteers are Bethlehem residents.

We are looking for a couple of people who would be willing to take on leadership roles, and lots of people who are willing to help out with less of a time committment. Even though the trail is about 2 years from being completed according to the county, we can use help starting soon.

We’re considering the following committees: Membership and Fundraising, Community Outreach and Publicity, Engineering and Maintenance, Safety and Security, and perhaps a Volunteer committee as well (though volunteers would serve on each committe really).

Here’s what volunteers would be helping with:

• Working with Albany County officials and members of the public to advise on the trail’s design and construction.
• Raising public awareness of the trail’s existence, and promoting it’s use.
• Calming concerns of local residents about trail safety, security, costs, etc.
• Helping establish proper signage for the trail (including visibility and directional signage, and related business oriented signage—such as bike shops, local eateries and cultural opportunities, and more), brochures, maps and other resources.
• Coordinating volunteer efforts for the trail such as garbage cleanup, planning events, etc.
• Encouraging bicycle awareness, safety, and maintenance among community members (as well as that of other non-motorized wheeled transit—i.e. rollerblades, skateboards, strollers, etc.)
• Working toward linking the trail with other rail trails, pedestrian paths, and community assets.
• Partnering with local community groups, businesses, or other entities.
• Working toward establishment of adequate and safe access to the trail, auto parking, and other infrastructure and services necessary for full use of the trail.
• Helping raise funds as needed for ongoing maintenance or security costs, signage, interpretive brochures for trail users, etc.
• Working with law enforcement officials and members of each of the communities along the trail to assure appropriate patrolling and safety of the trail for users, and prevention of motorized vehicle use along the trail

Anyone who can help with any of this or would like to join this group, please email me at raindan33@gmail.com.

Thanks very much!

Dan Rain, co-chair, Friends of the Hudson-Helderberg Rail Trail Committee, MHLC

Here’s the latest on the potential new rail-trails. This is from Ken von Geldern via the Albany Bicycling Coalition mailing list:

Great news…

On Monday night, the Albany County Legislature approved measures to purchase the Hudson-Heldelberg Railroad bed from Albany to Voorheesville, and fund the development of the Mohawk-Hudson (Patroon Creek) Trail into a bike trail.

Several people from the public spoke in favor of the measures in an impressive and inspiring display of support. There were members of four pro-bike organizations who spoke, and all gave intelligent and impassioned reasons for supporting the trails. I was really impressed with person after person who gave such intelligent arguments for supporting the trails, and touched by the way the speakers gave personal accounts of how the trails will help them and the community.

It was evident to me that the speakers created an atmosphere of hope and community pride throughout the meeting.

This became even more pronounced when the legislators spoke on the proposals. Several of them followed the lead of the public speakers and gave their own versions of why they support the trails and bicycling in general. Some of them have been working on these issues for years, and they got to bask in the support for a short time.

The inspiring atmosphere brought out some forward thinking, as one legislator proposed a way to produce more funding to pruchase and create more publc trails, and another suggested creating a county wide body to coordinate trail creation and connect the many small trails we now have.

All in all, only one person spoke in opposition, and only because he was in favor of keeping the Heldeberg Trail for train or alternative vehicle use.
The Legislature approved both measures by unanimous vocal assent.

Many thanks to everyone who attended and participated, and those who couldn’t make it but gave moral and organizational support. We can congratulate ourselves for the work we’ve done to accomplish this, and think about where we want to move on to next.

Now, let’s go out and send somebody to Congress who will help us do even more.

Ken

I ran into the delightful Mary Lou from the Albany Bicycle Coalition tonight at Stewart’s, and she said the rail-trail initiatives at the Albany County Legislature passed tonight. Look for a full report tomorrow, as soon as I can steal one from someone who attended.

Huzzah!