Ramapo plans to build a 1.4-mile-long pedestrian and bicycle trail from Airmont to Spring Valley

Ramapo, New York - Ramapo plans to build a 1.4-mile-long pedestrian and bicycle trail from Airmont to Spring Valley along an old railroad line.

It will likely be several years before the trail opens, but a state environmental review is expected to begin soon, Ramapo Assistant Town Attorney Aaron Troodler said Monday.

Troodler said that he did not how much the project would cost but that the town would explore grants to pay for it.

The trail would be part of the unused portion of the Piermont Branch line. It would run east from nearby Monsey Heights Road in Airmont, under the Thruway, cross routes 59 and 306 in Monsey, go past Robert Pitt Drive and end at West Central Avenue in Spring Valley.

"It's something that's going to enhance the town's parks and recreation program, really give people an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in a safe environment," Troodler said.

Metro-North Railroad, which owns the line, recently granted the town a 20-year license to lease the property for $1 a year, however, it waived the payments.

The town wants to build a 15-foot-wide, paved walkway with benches and lighting.

It will be responsible for clearing the land, constructing the trail, and adding fencing, storm drains and traffic control devices at road crossings. Ramapo also will remove what's left of the track, whose salvage value is "nil," said Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders.

The town has been discussing the project with Metro-North for two years. Surveying work was recently done and Troodler said some part of the line are "inaccessible," and need significant work.

"Some of that area really is in bad shape," Troodler said. "A lot of brush, (and) there's been some dumping over the years."

Rita Joachim, a Spring Valley resident, said anything that connected the town's various pockets of communities was a win.

Joachim also welcomed the news because she is a board member of the Rockland Bicycle Club.

"It's fabulous because that's a corridor that's very difficult to traverse, even by motor vehicle," Joachim said of the railroad line, which runs parallel to Route 59 in Spring Valley and Monsey. "It would be fabulous to open up that main east-west artery. ... There are people I know who would commute by bike if it was safer."

Many Orthodox Jews live in that part of town and often walk along Route 59. Troodler said some of the pedestrians could be diverted onto the new pathway.

"This is something that we hope will help keep walkers off the road," Troodler said.

In all, the Piermont line is 6.5 miles long and runs to Suffern.

State officials have previously said they might use the line from Suffern to Airmont for planned mass transit improvements on Interstate 287.

The corridor could be used to run commuter trains or bus rapid transit from western Ramapo to the New York State Thruway, then onto a replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Under the deal with Ramapo, Metro-North reserved the right to access the path area for its operations, including "any uses related to the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor project." But the location of the proposed pathway has never figured into the state plans.

"If there's a legitimate railroad use in the future, it's ours," Anders said. "But we're pretty sure we're not going to use it."

The Journal News