Thanks to all our spensors, vendors, presenters, and attendees for joining us for the 2011 Finger Lakes Trails and Greenway Confernece Presented by Parks & Trails New York and the Finger Lakes Land Trust with support from the Park Foundation.
Field Workshops - hands on learning – networking reception
This was opportunity for attendees too get out into the field and see first-hand what others are doing to design terrific trails, raise funds, overcome challenges,
and motivate volunteers. The field trips were followed by an early evening networking reception at the new Nevin Welcome Center at Cornell Plantations. Click here for more images from the reception.
Participants had a choice of attending one of several field workshops designed to highlight a variety of types of trails and trail management arrangements.
- Catharine Valley Trail
Those who joined this tour walked along a 1.5-mile section of this 9-mile stone dust trail in the area of Montour Falls and learned how this former rail and canal corridor, owned by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), is being developed and managed as a multi-use trail by OPRHP in partnership with the non-profit Friends of the Catharine Valley Trail. The Friends offered tips on trail programming based on their experiences with history and birding walks, Senior Wellness programs, and a newly launched OnCell initiative that allows trail users to access interpretive information and trail directions on their MP3 player or cell phone.
- Cascadilla Gorge Trail
The Cascadilla Trail is a fine example of how Ithaca earned the slogan "Ithaca is Gorges." The lower section of Cascadilla Gorge is truly a "gorges" display of rock, water and trees. Cascadilla Creek drops 400 feet from Cornell’s campus to downtown Ithaca, carving through 400 million year old bedrock. Tour leader, and Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Director, Todd Bittner discussed the major renovation of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail, and covered topics related to maintaining trails in urban and riparian settings. Click here for photos.
- Lick Brook Gorge
Finger Lakes and Trust executive director Andy Zepp led this tour of Lick Brook Gorge and a popular segment of the Finger Lakes Trail. Located just outside of Ithaca, Lick Brook features several waterfalls, nesting Ravens, and mature forests of hemlock and hardwoods. Andy provided an overview of the site’s ecological features, its history of conservation, and both the current and future management challenges associated with public access to the site.
- Cayuga Waterfront Trail
Participants had the opportunity to walk this 2-mile loop of the first phase of the 6-mile Cayuga Waterfront Trail with trail designer and coordinator Rick Manning, ASLA. The focus of Rick's tour was the development of trail amenities, including the trailhead, overlooks and special gardens, interpretive signage, brochures and furnishings. Site history and the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce partnership was also be discussed. Rick provided an overview of the Ithaca Childrens Garden, for which he prepared a master plan and designs for the Growing Gardens and Gaia the Turtle Sculpture. Click here for photos of the tour.
Saturday's Program: Timely topics - practical information - sharing of experiences - networking
Saturday’s program featured two nationally recognized trails advocates: Jeff Olson and Craig Della Penna. Click here for more images from the conference.
The confernece was designed to offer multiple opportunities for local government and tourism officials, trail professionals, business leaders, trail users, and grassroots activists and organizations to share their experiences and learn from recognized leaders in the field. Participants experienced a dynamic mix of keynotes, workshops, and panel discussions at Robert Purcell Community Center on Cornell University’s North
campus featuring timely issues, implementation tools and strategies, and interesting case studies designed to develop the skills to build, maintain,
and advocate for trails that support healthy active living, tourism, economic development, sustainability, and alternative transportation. Photo's of the conference can be found here.
Presentations
Plenary One – Trails, Blueways and Greenways - Everybody’s doing it! - Jeff Olson, Partner, Alta Planning + Design
Plenary Two – Trails Benefit Everyone –Craig Della Penna, Trailside Family of Companies
TRACK ONE: Strategies for Trail Success-Lessons Learned
Getting started, growing and thriving: Discover how to launch a trail project and get the community, including elected officials, involved and committed short- and long-term.
Moderator:
Ruth Hopkins, Lansing Pathways Committee
Dave Schaeffer, Trailmaster, Crescent Trail Association, Perinton
Dave Wright, Chairperson, Victor Hiking Trails
Addressing public concerns: Presenters will share tips on how to work with landowners and address perennial community concerns such as liability and insurance, privacy, crime and vandalism, and ongoing maintenance.
Moderator: Jan Zeserson, Black Diamond Trail Enthusiasts Network
Anne Bergantz, President, Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail
George Frantz, Principle, George Frantz & Associates
David Diaz, Director of Land Protection, Finger Lakes Land Trust (handout)
Finding resources of all kinds: Learn how others have tapped a variety of resources from government grants to foundations, force account work, partnerships, material donations, volunteer labor and individual and corporate gifts to build trails and keep them well-maintained.
Moderator: Jim Arey, Senior Transportation Planner, Elmira-Chemung
Transportation Council
Vince Scalise, President, Cayuga-Seneca Trail Association
Nelson Ronsvalle, Director of Finance, Town of Halfmoon
Donna Lynch, Co-chairperson, Chittenango Creek Walk and Neighborhood Trail Commitee
TRACK TWO: Trails - Multiple Benefits for the Region
Boosting Regional Tourism: Land and water trails can add an attractive new dimension to an already important tourist economy in the Finger Lakes region. Hear what others are doing and what your community can do to be trail-friendly and profit from trail tourism.
Moderator: Fred Bonn, Director, Ihtaca and Tompkins County Conventional and Visitors
Bureau
Robin Dropkin, Executive Director, Parks & Trails New York
Scott Keller, Trails and Special Projects Director, Hudson River Valley Greenway
Lori Solomon-Duell, Director of Tourism Development and Marketing, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor (handout)
Exercise is Medicine™: How trails promote individual health and conserve community wealth. Learn more about the evidence-based rationale for walking as a medical therapy, discuss the barriers to the use of exercise as medicine, and explore how the development, promotion and use of trails conserves the wealth of local communities.
Moderator: Teresa Lyczko, Director, Health Promotion Program, Tompkins County Health
Department
Geoffrey E. Moore, MD FACSM, Director of Clinical Services, Cayuga
Center for Healthy Living
Mary McFadden, Supervising Public Health Educator, Broome County
Health Department
Jeanne Leccese, Coordinator, Creating Healthy Places Program, Human
Planning Council, Tompkins County
A catalyst for community revitalization: Trails can play a major role in bringing new life to a city, village or town. Gain inspiration and direction from the success that other communities have achieved in filling storefronts by creating new businesses and growing existing ones.
Moderator: Jayme Breschard, Senior Planner, Genesee-Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council
Vicki Benjamin, Millerton Business Owner, Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association
Lisa DeLeeuw, Executive Director, Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association
Bob Corby, Mayor, Village of Pittsford
Carl Knoch, Manager of Trail Development, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Northeast Regional Office
TRACK THREE: Trail Planning and Design
Green Infrastructure Plans - a solid foundation for trail and greenway planning: Green infrastructure planning can help assess and balance a community’s needs for conservation and recreation and provide direction for trail and greenway location. Learn more about this new strategic planning tool and how it has fostered successful local and regional trail networks in the Southern Tier and across the nation.
Moderator: Ed Marx, Commissioner of Planning, Tompkins County
Ole Amundsen, Strategic Conservation Planning Program Manager, The Conservation Fund
Mike Haas, RLA, ASLA, Principle, Haas Landscape Architects
Mike Avery, Director of Public Works, Cehmung County and City of Elmira
Designing trails that delight and inspire: Hear how good trail design can dramatically enhance the trail user experience, engage the public in the design process, provide a unique trail identity, secure private donors, and a match for government funding.
Moderator: Mina Amundsen, University Planner, Cornell University
Rick Manning, ASLA, Rick Manning Landscape Architect
Annette Marchesseault, RLA, Senior Landscape Architect, Trowbridge and Wolf Landscape Architects
Sue Poelvoorde, Senior Natural Resources Planner, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Finger Lakes Region
Universal Access - Designing for everyone: Plan and design trails that will be inviting to people of all ages and abilities and discover the small changes that make a big difference. Learn about the Universal Trail Assessment Process and gather tips for ensuring your trail operations and regulations meet the new federal accessibility guidelines.
Moderator: Lois Chaplin, Bicycle and Pedestrian Specialist, Cornell Local Roads Program
Carole Fraser, Universal Access Program Coordinator, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Carol May, President, Trail Works Inc., Wayne County
Click here for a comprehenisive resource of Municipal Open Space/Natural Resource/Trail Plans in the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region.
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2007 Greenways & Trails Conference
Trail advocates from throughout the state networked with friends old and new, recharged their batteries, and gathered many new ideas to take home to their communities at a two-day conference held in Rochester, NY.
Presentations:
- Bicyclists Bring Business
- Corridor Management
- Forging a Network of Trails
- Erie Canal Customer Satisfaction Survey
- Using Road Right of Ways as Trail Corridors
- Building the Hoosic Greenway
- Creating a Statewide Network of Trails
- Incorperating Natural Resources
- Railroads in New York State
- Village of Chittenango Creekwalk
- The New York State Canal Corporation
- Creating Great Signs
- Keep Greenways Weird
- Saratoga P.L.A.N
- Mohonk Preserve Handouts
- Cayuga Waterfront Trail
- Economic Benefits of Trails
- Motivating and Retaining Volunteers
- Taking the Trail On-Road
- National Grid Trails Brochue
- Community Trails and Public Health
- Finding the Money
- Northern Forest Canoe Trail
- Trails and Greenways - Inspiring People to do Things Beyond Their Wildest Dreams
- Useful Links for Information on Railroads
2005 Greenways & Trails Conference
The files can be quite large. Please check the size listed next to an available file before attempting to open or download each file:
- Conference
Program
- Parks and Trails that Sustain Us: Shaping the 21st Century Commons
- One for All & All for One: Pulling Together to Leverage Big Funding for Trails
- What If We Don't Own The Trail Corridor? A critical first step for most trail projects is to protect, gain access to, or acquire the desired trail corridor. This session will provide an overview of the common types of access agreements, the railbanking process, and tips for working with different types of landowners.
- Creating Regional Systems - A trail on its own is a wonderful thing, but imagine that it can take you on a seamless journey from one community to the next. See how some regions in New York are implementing this vision and learn why it is important to think regionally.
- Getting Creative - Planning & Designing Trails that Speak to the Heart and Soul - Recent research indicates that what a trail looks and feels like can make a difference in determining the amount of trail use, especially by those who are not already physically active. Find out what you can do to make your trail an inspiring and vital resource in the life of the community. Learn from some outstanding projects about creative planning and design and concepts that you can borrow to make your corridor an inviting destination, easily accessed by community residents - including those with disabilities.
- Be a More Effective Trails Advocate - Trails are usually popular public amenities, but when competing with other priorities for scarce municipal and state funds, they do not always win out. Experienced voices will share the basics you need to know to be a more successful advocate for your trail.
- Bringing Energy To Your Trail Initiative Through Health Partnerships - The rise of obesity as a national health epidemic in the U.S. has created new avenues of funding and support for trail development. Learn how to incorporate this emerging issue and find new allies to make your trail initiative even stronger.
- The Power Of Prevention - Engage The Community First - Not everyone wants a trail near his or her home or community. Learn about the common forms and sources of opposition to trails and ways to address legitimate concerns and uncertainty before they snowball into activeopposition.
- Is Your Trail Invisible? - Some wonderful trails don't get the use they deserve because they have too low a profile. Could your trail benefit from increased visibility in the community? Learn some basics for putting your trail project out in the public eye.
- Managing
Risk - What You Need to Know About Liability and Insurance - Concerns
about liability for landowners, trail managers, and volunteers can
dampen or stall your trail project's momentum if you are not prepared
to deal with the common questions that arise. Learn the basics of
liability, insurance, and establishing a risk-management system
to keep your worries to a reasonable minimum.
- Robert Reinhardt, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (PDF- 4,334KB)
- Don Pachner, New York - New Jersey Trail Conference (PDF- 428KB)
- Strong & Sustainable Trail Groups - Getting a trail project to the construction phase can often take several years of sustained effort by trail advocates. Once a trail is built, trail groups can play a critical ongoing role in making the trail a vibrant community asset. Learn what it takes to put your group on a strong footing to see your trail effort mature and bloom while avoiding common pitfalls.
- Toward Universal Access - Knowing what is needed and required to assure that trails are universally accessible has often been difficult to discover and understand. Learn the latest on the status of federal guidelines for accessible trails. Discover how trails for persons with limited mobility are being designed, developed and promoted not only in New York State but also in England's Lake District National Park.
- Getting Along - Making Multiple Use Work - Most trail managers face user conflicts related to their corridor at some point in the life of the trail project. Get prepared in advance by learning about common friction points and how to avoid or minimize them from those who have weathered the storms and found solutions.
- Grants - Where They Are & How To Win Them - Gain an overview of the best funding sources to meet common trail project needs. Learn how to make your funding requests stand out as well as how to avoid common mistakes that can sink your chances. A thorough Q&A session with a diverse panel of professional grant reviewers and grant writers will shine the light of experience on your own grant application questions.
29 Elk Street w Albany, NY 12207 w (ph) 518-434-1583 w (fax) 518-427-0067 w ptny@ptny.org
Parks & Trails New York is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as defined by the IRS.