Driving down Walnut Street in Batavia you may notice several trees have been removed and the logs are piled up on the east side of the Tonawanda Creek.
The tree removal is part of the Ellicott Trail project.
The trail will cross the creek in this area and in July, according to Matt Worth, Batavia's director of Public Works, a bridge will be placed across the creek at this location.
The 4.6 mile, $1.7 million trail -- a cooperative effort between the City, the Town, the County, and the State, should open sometime in the fall.
The trail is designed for recreational use by pedestrians and bicyclists.
Guess there wont be any shade
Guess there wont be any shade on that part of the trail. Also, when the trees were there, there was already a trail, fisherman use/used it all the time. Cutting down TREES to make a trail is about as a$$ backwards as it gets. How about leaving the trees, maybe widening the trail a bit and cutting back the underbrush for safety? NOPE! Clearcut 90% of the trees, pave over everything with asphalt. You want to see what a real trail looks like? Head on over to Godfreys Pond, or the County Forest.
These pictures make me sick when i think what a hidden pocket of nature that was when i was a kid.
New trees will be planted.
New trees will be planted.
Ahhhhhh, new spiffy
Ahhhhhh, new spiffy government trees. Along with some new pavement voila... a new government lalaland in place of a slice of nature. Good solid government creep. Thanks to Christopher Putnam, who is obviously familiar with this stretch of the creek, for pointing out another folly of local government. Shameless... shameful.
I for one can't wait to have
I for one can't wait to have a safe and proper place for recreational bike riding ... long overdue in this community and exactly the role of government to create such public facilities.
Greenways can be wonderful
Greenways can be wonderful things to have in a community.
https://www.raleighnc.gov/parks/content/PRecDesignDevelop/Articles/Capi…
The goal in Wake County, NC is to have them all interconnected so folks can get around much of the county on them if they'd like.
For example, I have the option to hop on a greenway by my house and walk/ride to work, then take the greenway to my usual watering hole, and then make my way home, only touching roadways to cross them occasionally.
Yeah they will plant nice
Yeah they will plant nice little trees, about 8 foot tall. They will be beautiful in about 60 years.
Greenway!? The whole city was green until people decided they needed parking lots and roads. Now some people decided they would like a "greenway" a cross between a trail, and a road. FFS. So the answer is cut down more trees and lay more pavement?
If i owned property on walnut st backing the creek, and i had a nice little bonfire spot, and a creek view backed by 80 ft tall trees, then it was replaced with a view of a factory and a run down neighborhood, I might be a bit pissed.
I know just such a person
I know just such a person Christopher Putnam. Instead of the privacy he enjoyed and the beautiful view of nature he once was able to enjoy in his backyard, the view he now has of that factory and run-down neighborhood is disgusting. Sad that the powers-that-be placed absolutely no value on the many decades of growth they just clear cut - not to mention the wildlife habitat they erased. Wonder what they plan on doing with all the wood? Just taking it to the dump? How about free firewood for people that need help heating their homes? At least then it would be going to a good cause.
Just sayin', but $1.7 Million taxpayer dollars for a 4.6 mile path seems exorbitant to me. But hey, why should they care about costs when they are spending other peoples' money?!?
This makes me wonder how much they spent adding the boobs on Main and Ellicott Streets (that made snow-plowing much more difficult, time-consuming, and therefore far more costly to taxpayers)??? And how much it cost to turn Routes 5 & 63 into single lane roads to add a "bike path" that you very rarely see anyone using??? Government at its' finest.
$1.7M for a bicycle path that
$1.7M for a bicycle path that maybe 3% of the population will use... what a friggin WASTE of taxpayer money! Just another step in the NYS progressives dysfunctional abuse of money stolen from the working class.
Personally, I like the idea
Personally, I like the idea of this trail and look forward to walking it. It will be nice to have one close to Batavia. Other trails in the area, like Akron, Tonawanda and Chili are popular. With luck, I hope this trail will be linked to them in the future. The cost is a factor. In any other state it would cost only half this amount. But we have the Prevailing Wage and Scaffold law that adds about 50% to the cost. How many will use it is hard to tell. Brain guesses 3%. That's probably how many use the Spray Park, or go to the Ice Rink or Dwyer Stadium.
Waste!
Waste!
The trail that was already in
The trail that was already in place could have been traversed by anyone. Most bicycles sold today are designed to traverse such trails and are cheap and readily available. If underbrush was a problem it could have been reasonably cut back and still maintained the natural beauty that existed before government creeps pushed for more government creep. Hypocrite "less government" politicos are hilariously backing the government creep they decry with both faces. Government can hold their little hands while they tricycle their way along the creek. But they better call for a permanent lifeguard or two to be posted along the pavement because accidents happen and such two faced beings would be prone to swim around in a circle till...