The preliminary design phase for the Ellicott Trail project, a bike and hiking path in Batavia, has been completed.
According to Joseph Neth, project manager and engineer technician for the Town of Batavia, the proposed trail will begin at Pearl Street in the City of Batavia and extend east to Seven Springs Road in the Town of Batavia. The trail will be between 4.3 and 4.6 miles long and 10-feet wide. The trail will have both on- and off-road segments. Existing pavement will be used where feasible, and the off-road segments will be composed of stone.
The trail will cross both public and private land. According to Neth, the project has received letters from private land owners stating they were open to the idea of the trail crossing their land.
"The trail will create an alternative form of transportation," Neth said. "It connects some of the historic and commercial areas of the city and the town. The trail will be a recreational form as well and that's something we don't have yet in Genesee County."
The steering committee held an informational meeting earlier this month to get input from the community on the preliminary draft. Only three members of the community showed up to hear the committee's presentation. Although the period for public comment has ended, the committee will still accept comments on the project throughout the rest of the process.
The next step is to submit a draft report to the Department of Transportation for approval in August. The project has been approved for approximately $1,000,000 in federal grant funding administered by the DOT. The preliminary design phase cost $69,000.
After the draft report is approved, the project will go through a final design phase and then contracts can be prepared so the project can go up for bid. If the project continues on schedule, trail construction will begin in 2017.
a million dollar bike path to
a million dollar bike path to nowhere? is this money spent better elsewhere? where you cant even ride a bike 6-7 months out of the year. Howard are there any strings attached to the 1Mil.$ federal grant?
YES!
YES!
About time.....
About time.....
With bridges and roadways in
With bridges and roadways in deplorable conditions, we are spending one million dollars on what?
We already have a bicycle
We already have a bicycle path to nowhere that nobody uses, it's called Ellicott St.
I use the bicycle lane on
I use the bicycle lane on Ellicott St. as do many others Kurt. Not singling you out but I'm tired of hearing that "no one uses it".
C.J. look around many of us bicyclist ride more than 3 months a year. This year I expect to ride 6 to 8 mos. While I personally don't ride when road conditions are icy many do.
I would suggest if you feel this strongly against a project such as one like this become involved. I was one of the 3 who attended the public meeting. 3 ... one ... two ... three Batavians.
And yes I do agree our bridges are in terrible shape.
BTW, it's not just a bike path it will also be walk-able and handicap accessible.
A while back there was talk
A while back there was talk of a bike/pedestrian trail that would stretch across I believe 3 counties. Is this a part of that, or is this a separate project? Just curious.
I for one think this is a WONDERFUL idea! You can sit and complain about where the money is better spent.... Or you can get out in the fresh air and ride!!! Life is to short, enjoy it . :)
I think this is positive for
I think this is positive for our community to promote health and wellness. Honestly the bicycle lanes on ellicott street I believe is not a safe way of transportation being on major highways. Would you let your kids go on them ? The sidewalks are safer in my eyes but it's just my opinion.
There's an awful lot of 18
There's an awful lot of 18 wheelers that use 63 as a way to avoid the Thruway. Also, at 63 and Jackson, many drivers turning right onto Jackson from the southbound 63 lane use the bike lane as a turning lane. I've almost been hit on a bicycle and a car at that intersection (FTR - I was in the driving lane waiting to turn right in my car when I was almost hit by another car that pulled up in the bike lane passing 3-4 cars on the right to hurry and make a turn).
"There's an awful lot of 18
"There's an awful lot of 18 wheelers that use 63 as a way to avoid the Thruway."
Not sure why they would avoid the thruway as many trucking companies cover the toll expense for their drivers with the E Z Pass, or reimbursement to the drivers.
I'd be more inclined to think that much of the tractor trailer traffic through Batavia is from delivering within the city, or multiple delivery stops that would not make use of the thruway advantageous.
I could be wrong, but I
I could be wrong, but I believe 63 is a common corridor to get to the 390 without having to drive the thruway out to the Rochester area.
Two points that were brought
Two points that were brought up during the public meeting for Ellicott Trail were more traffic enforcement by BPD, drive home the fact that the bike lane isn't a turning lane for drivers.
Also more prominent markings even though the lane meets all DOT regs. now.
Taking away traffic lanes for
Taking away traffic lanes for a bicycle lane on Ellicott was ridiculous! On a highly used traffic route for tractor trailers and so many vehicles in general, why would you take away that lane so a bicycle can use it maybe one or so every hour? I think we need the turning lanes for traffic more than a bicycle does. What is wrong with the sidewalk? Hopefully this new bike route won`t cause more of these traffic problems.Just like making route 5 from Stafford into town a one lane road. Brilliant! Its a wonder that turning lane hasn`t gotten someone killed yet. Half of these bicyclists have no respect for the traffic either. They are supposed to obey the traffic laws as well and most do not, like stopping at stop signs and such.
Riding a bicycle on the
Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is illegal.
I submit that more people should ride their bikes around town instead of using motor vehicles so often.
I used to agree but now that
I used to agree but now that I ride an old granny Tricycle I can't make myself get as excited as I once was. I can't ride a bicycle because when I'm drunk I fall over trying to get on it. Thank geewillikers for illegal Medijuana and PirateBay where you can steal anything you want to watch or hear.