Lancaster, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York State Assemblywoman Monica Wallace was joined by State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Justin Booth from GObike Buffalo and other local elected leaders on Tuesday in Lancaster to announce funding for a potential extension of the Lancaster and Cheektowaga bike paths.
The proposal announced on Tuesday includes $50,000 secured by the State for a feasibility study of the trail extension connecting the Lancaster Heritage Trail to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Rail Trail.
It also includes a commitment of $1 million of State funding toward the possible construction of the trail extension once the feasibility study is complete. That would help with the local share of the estimated $5 million price tag on the project.
When all is said and done, it would connect the bike trails to make an impressive 12-mile long trail for riders.
"That's really what I think is fantastic, because it will give every resident in my district the opportunity to travel from one end of the district all the way to the other end of the district," said Assemblywoman Wallace. "One of the things we talked about what the feasibility study, there will be a website where the public can weigh in with comments about what they think about this. But there will be opportunities to egress and enter so that you can kind of stop off in different points along the way. So I think it's really exciting, and I'm thankful to all of the people behind me for helping to make it happen."
When it comes to the feasibility study, it will examine where the proposed trail would be, what the best place would be, and what kind of mitigation efforts would need to happen to make it safe for travelers. This includes the possibility of it running along an existing rail line at any point, how would it be possible to keep everyone on the trail safe?
"I talked to the county already, and much of what we think would be the existing, the proposed railway is within the county right away. So that should help, hopefully, with getting the trail built," Assemblywoman Wallace said.
Helping out with the feasibility study will be Booth and the folks with GObike Buffalo. Not only does their work involve feasibility studies, but it's also working with municipalities and residents on community outreach engagement, identifying maintenance plans for long-term sustainability of projects, and helping identify funding to make sure projects can not only maintain them in the future, but build them in the first place.
"Our work is really looking at building quality of life across Western New York," said Booth. "These trails and greenways connect people, connect destinations through passive recreation. But as we start to really build these networks and these missing links, we also create these meaningful locations for people to get to their destinations. To work, to school, to visit family. We don't always need to take every trip in a vehicle, and as we continue to see from health outcomes to economic vibrancy to the environment, we need to continue to make sure that our communities are safe, are accessible, and we build the quality of life that keeps people here and attracts more people to come to Buffalo and Western New York."
Booth and GObike Buffalo are currently working on other projects across Western New York, including the addition of new biking pathways in-and-around Forest Avenue.
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As for the timeline of this project, Assemblywoman Wallace says it will still be a little while before anyone starts to see real movement with the future of the path. It's partly due to not only the funding needed to be secured after the feasibility study, but also accessing federal money to complement that to help get the trail built.
"This will go a long way toward offsetting what normally, there's a local share to help alleviate some of the burden on the municipalities," Assemblywoman Wallace said. "This State share will act as the local share for the municipalities that will then allow us to access the federal money. In terms of how long the feasibility study would take, I would say, at most, 18 months, so not too bad."
Hear more from Tuesday's press conference in the player below: