Adirondack train boosters face growing questions
A couple of years ago, it seemed like the Adirondack Scenic Railroad would chug along forever, with hobbyists and boosters working slowly and steadily to expand the line that now operates between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
But then a group called ARTA – the Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates — jumped in and changed the narrative. In short order, they signed up thousands of people who say the corridor from Remsen to Lake Placid should be remade as a multi-use trail.
They cobbled together a unique coalition of greenies, snowmobilers, bicycle enthusiasts and anti-pork advocates (who think government subsidies for the train are a waste) and started making noise.
The response from train advocates and some state officials was blunt: This has already been decided. It’s a railroad line and will always be a railroad line. End of conversation.
That view was echoed recently by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, which concluded in its latest report that funding for rail infrastructure — including the Adirondack tourist train — is a priority.
But it’s clear that ARTA struck a nerve. In recent months, town governments along the corridor — most recently Tupper Lake last night — have passed resolutions urging New York to reopen the unit management plan that governs use of the track.
Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and North Elba have all endorsed a fresh look at the future of the corridor. Some local officials have gone further, deriding the track as a boondoggle and calling for it to be torn up.
Tupper Lake has been the focal point of resistance to that notion, with the “Next Stop Tupper Lake” group — including some town board members — fighting passionately to keep the train, well, on track.
So last night’s 3-to-2 vote was a stunner. Town supervisor Roger Amell, in an interview with NCPR, said that he personally prefers that the track be removed in the Tri-Lakes region.
“To keep the snowmobilers, that’s a key thing for Tupper Lake,” he said. “Unless you have plenty of snow, you can’t use the tracks. You have to have at least 18 inches of snow for the tracks [to be covered].”
Train boosters are working to recapture momentum. They plan to hold a trip for local media and officials later this month to highlight the corridor’s value as a tourist line, calling it “a celebration of the rails.”
That’s good outreach, but my sense is that the time has come when railroad boosters will have to engage the debate more broadly, making a better argument for how the train can become a real and sustainable tourism asset.
Big enough, that is, to offset the downsides of a corridor that goes unused most of the year over most of its length.
When it was just ARTA calling for a new direction for the line, train buffs and members of the Regional Economic Development Council could make a reasonable claim that a fresh conversation wasn’t warranted.
But now that local government leaders have embraced the debate, it’s probably time for everyone — including New York state — to come to the table.
Tags: railstrails
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And for the record, Burlington is the hub of a metropolitan area with a population of more than 200,000. All you have to do is look at the satellite view of it on Google maps, and you can see that the usage of a rail trail there has absolutely nothing to tell us about the likely usage of a rail trail in the tri-lakes region.
I along with several others, from here, traveled to Burlington to ride their rail trail. Enjoyed the trail, ate lunch, bought a snack, and had some dinner. Propably dropped $600 between us just for one day’s excursion. Those 42,000 people are a few hours away from us and they will travel to do the same thing only there are more of them. But we do not even have to reach that far away. We will get day trippers from Plattsburgh, Glen Falls, Potsdam and Canton. Overnighters from Montreal, Ottawa, Albany, Syracuse and beyond. These are new people who will come just to ride the trail. Seriously, you have no idea how enthusiastic people are about this. You do not get over 9000 signatures on a petition in a years time unless there is some real enthusiasm. New campers will come to Fish Creek just because they have this trail to ride.
Let me state first that I a, in favor or railroads; However, given the state of the Amtrack line, which in fact serves the North Country in a capacity through the New York City-Ft. Edward- Whitehall- Ticonderoga- Port Henry- Plattsburgh – Montreal line, but with limited capacity because of the deterioration of the track, I can’t see spending tax payer money on a recreational train when the real infrastructure to the major population center of NYC lies elsewhere.
Why reinvent the wheel? Throw the money into fixing the existing track on the east side of the region and target market the region to NYC folks with the rail access and perhaps a connecting bus service.
The best thing to do is to keep the track intact and build a path along side, this would be a win-win for every one!