Down the wrong path

UPDATED (Feb. 9)!
Tonight the Saranac River Trail is on the chopping block. It shouldn’t be, but this is life under Mayor Read, where if it’s not one stupid thing, it’s another. And another. And another ...

Yet this may be the dumbest mistake of all.

The Saranac River Trail (full disclosure: I was once chair of the Saranac River Trail Advisory Committee) is what we call a nice thing. And it’s a nice thing with a payoff. People like to use non-motorized trails. They exercise on them. They commute on them. They get a little dose of nature on them. They play on them. And for those lucky enough to live near trails, they make money from them, because their property values increase.

Yes, nice things cost money. Fortunately, much of the money for the Saranac River Trail’s planned expansion comes from state or federal government grants.

Here’s a rundown of past and present trail funding, by phase:

Phase 1 (completed)

Cost: $1.2 million

This is the part of the trail Plattsburghers already enjoy, which opened up the river from the southern part of Pine Street to Steltzer Road  and on through the SUNY campus. The whole 1.3-mile stretch was covered by the state Dept. of Transportation multimodal fund, and was done in conjunction with previously planned city and state spending on road improvements to Steltzer, Pine and George Angell Drive.

Phase 2 (planned)

Cost: $2.1 million

Cost to City: 20% of cost, but could go down to 5%

This section will connect create a safe route up Pine Street to Stafford Middle School, connect Pine Street to Saranac Street and a new riverfront park, connect the new park to downtown via Durkee Street and then head north to Bridge Street. It would be funded by the state DOT on an 80-20 match, but the city is eligible for additional state funding that could drive city costs down to 5%, or $105,000. To get the grant money, the city must have two bridges across the Saranac River, at Durkee Street and at Pine Street (more on this in a bit).

Phase 3 (planned)

Cost: $1.3 million

Cost to City: 20%, but could go down to 5%

This phase would take the trail east to Green Street, and on to the waterfront marina, making a nearly seamless pedestrian and cycling route from Lake Champlain all the way to George Angell Drive on the SUNY campus.

Tonight’s vote could jeopardize all of the above. When the original Phase 2 grant came in, the city thought it could refurbish the old Saranac Street bridge, which had served as a de facto pedestrian bridge for years. But the bridge was beyond repair, and had to be taken down. The trail suddenly needed a new bridge. Without that bridge, the city would rescind the right to all $2.1 million of the Phase 2 grant money, because the Phase 2 project calls for two bridges. There’s no negotiating this.

Thankfully, in 2016 the city and the Friends of the Saranac River Trail hunted down and procured a $500,000 grant from the state’s parks and historic preservation department to fund a new bridge. Problem solved.

Enter the Read administration. Suddenly, some city councilors have cold feet about the cost of the whole project, and last week tabled a vote to accept the $500,000 bridge grant and move ahead. If they don’t accept the money, all of Phase 2 falls apart—and with it, likely Phase 3. Because if you’re a state agency, do you really want to waste your time and money on municipalities that give back your funding?

The ripple effects would be devastating. Phase 2 was designed to be built in tandem with street upgrades for Pine Street near the Police Station and Stafford Middle School, and was to be a linchpin in the downtown redevelopment initiative. Years of planning and thousands of volunteer hours have gone into making the Saranac River Trail a reality. Prior city administrations made smart deals that will provide maximum bang for the taxpayer’s buck—a $5 million infrastructure upgrade for about a $700,000 investment. 

And yet the city is seriously considering turning down money that will vastly improve the community.

I’d love to end this with a snarky punch line. I can’t. This is too depressing.

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