3 min
Mayors, Supervisor Oppose Trail in Cold Spring Highlands Current Audio Stories
-
- Daily News
Voice concerns in letter to state parks
The mayors of Cold Spring and Nelsonville and the supervisor in Philipstown issued a letter on Wednesday (April 17) opposing plans to start the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail in Cold Spring.
The letter, signed by Kathleen Foley of Cold Spring, Chris Winward of Nelsonville and John Van Tassel of Philipstown and read aloud by Foley and Van Tassel at meetings, is addressed to Meagan Fitzgerald, the deputy commissioner of the state parks agency and Linda Cooper, the regional director.
State parks is partnering with Scenic Hudson, an environmental nonprofit based in Poughkeepsie, to construct the HHFT, which is proposed to run from Cold Spring to Beacon along the Hudson River. It is the lead agency in the environmental review of the project.
"Having the actual trail enter the Village of Cold Spring by any route would irreversibly change the landscape, viewshed and character of the village as well as the experience of all Philipstowners who consider Cold Spring the heart of our town," the three elected officials wrote. "The trail's necessary size, scale and construction requirements, particularly to meet the accessibility goal identified by the HHFT design team, would be outsized for our small residential village."
The officials asserted that creating a gateway to the trail in Cold Spring, especially a proposed route beginning at the state-owned Dockside Park, would itself become a tourist destination, creating "an unbearable, unsustainable increase in visitor volume that no number of trash cans and toilets will offset."
Instead, the letter advocates simple, "residentially scaled" paths and sidewalks from Cold Spring to an HHFT entrance north of the village, describing that approach as "far more appropriate to our historic, livable community."
Foley said the letter represents the views of the three officials but not necessarily of the Village Board. (Van Tassel said the same about the Town Board.) On Wednesday, Cold Spring Trustee Aaron Freimark remarked that he would have appreciated receiving a copy of the letter before the meeting.
"It is your right to act unilaterally," he said. "But as a courtesy, we're reminded that we work together as a board."
"I accept your good feedback," Foley responded. "At some point, we need to calendar this as a public discussion."
Foley also read comments into the record from an April 3 statement by members of the HHFT Data Committee, which includes two Cold Spring residents and Winward, that was critical of HHFT.
Thanking the Data Committee for its work, Foley said: "We picked people who know their fields and bring expertise ranging from data analysis to public administration to legal perspective; I wanted that to be part of our record."
In a statement on Thursday (April 18), MJ Martin, director of development and community engagement for HHFT, wrote: "HHFT, along with state parks, has been in continued conversation with municipal leadership on the project. Both the letter by the supervisor and mayors and the media statement by the Philipstown members of the Data Committee came abruptly, in the middle of an ongoing process meant to gather information and understand community members' priorities.
"It was surprising to learn municipal leadership is taking this stance, as local support for the Shoreline Trail is well documented in both a survey administered by HHFT and a recent independent survey by a Cold Spring resident. Philipstown, including the villages, is a community composed of diverse viewpoints. It is important that all voices be heard."
Voice concerns in letter to state parks
The mayors of Cold Spring and Nelsonville and the supervisor in Philipstown issued a letter on Wednesday (April 17) opposing plans to start the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail in Cold Spring.
The letter, signed by Kathleen Foley of Cold Spring, Chris Winward of Nelsonville and John Van Tassel of Philipstown and read aloud by Foley and Van Tassel at meetings, is addressed to Meagan Fitzgerald, the deputy commissioner of the state parks agency and Linda Cooper, the regional director.
State parks is partnering with Scenic Hudson, an environmental nonprofit based in Poughkeepsie, to construct the HHFT, which is proposed to run from Cold Spring to Beacon along the Hudson River. It is the lead agency in the environmental review of the project.
"Having the actual trail enter the Village of Cold Spring by any route would irreversibly change the landscape, viewshed and character of the village as well as the experience of all Philipstowners who consider Cold Spring the heart of our town," the three elected officials wrote. "The trail's necessary size, scale and construction requirements, particularly to meet the accessibility goal identified by the HHFT design team, would be outsized for our small residential village."
The officials asserted that creating a gateway to the trail in Cold Spring, especially a proposed route beginning at the state-owned Dockside Park, would itself become a tourist destination, creating "an unbearable, unsustainable increase in visitor volume that no number of trash cans and toilets will offset."
Instead, the letter advocates simple, "residentially scaled" paths and sidewalks from Cold Spring to an HHFT entrance north of the village, describing that approach as "far more appropriate to our historic, livable community."
Foley said the letter represents the views of the three officials but not necessarily of the Village Board. (Van Tassel said the same about the Town Board.) On Wednesday, Cold Spring Trustee Aaron Freimark remarked that he would have appreciated receiving a copy of the letter before the meeting.
"It is your right to act unilaterally," he said. "But as a courtesy, we're reminded that we work together as a board."
"I accept your good feedback," Foley responded. "At some point, we need to calendar this as a public discussion."
Foley also read comments into the record from an April 3 statement by members of the HHFT Data Committee, which includes two Cold Spring residents and Winward, that was critical of HHFT.
Thanking the Data Committee for its work, Foley said: "We picked people who know their fields and bring expertise ranging from data analysis to public administration to legal perspective; I wanted that to be part of our record."
In a statement on Thursday (April 18), MJ Martin, director of development and community engagement for HHFT, wrote: "HHFT, along with state parks, has been in continued conversation with municipal leadership on the project. Both the letter by the supervisor and mayors and the media statement by the Philipstown members of the Data Committee came abruptly, in the middle of an ongoing process meant to gather information and understand community members' priorities.
"It was surprising to learn municipal leadership is taking this stance, as local support for the Shoreline Trail is well documented in both a survey administered by HHFT and a recent independent survey by a Cold Spring resident. Philipstown, including the villages, is a community composed of diverse viewpoints. It is important that all voices be heard."
3 min