About Tim Rowland

Tim Rowland is a columnist, author and outdoors writer living in Jay.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Scott Thompson says

    Nothing to do with the APA approval, but the economic consequences of not trail connecting the Old Forge area to the tri lakes is a tragedy.
    Who ever has this vision for the corridor needs a seeing eye dog.

  2. Bob says

    So our tax money was used to do all the railroad tracks, crossings, etc and now we’re going to use our tax money to rip out everything for a bike trail.
    Makes no sense to me. We should have both.
    Oh and by the way, NYS has no tax money, so good luck in doing any of this.

    • Dave Whitbeck says

      SO I guess you will be happy then if the entire corridor goes to pot. No money for a trail, no money to keep the ASR alive either then!

  3. Tammy says

    It was nice to see this decision happen via a virtual meeting. It’s great to see this resolved. 800 comments received about the Rail Trail prior earlier meetings. Sometimes you feel like your voice is heard, there is one of those times. Thank you to everyone involved!

  4. Dave Whitbeck says

    This is a compromise that while not 100% good for either side, both get/give a bit. I’m sure the rail folks will be right back in court real soon to get this UMP declared illegal & violating some NY State Law. They cannot help themselves! Give it 5 more years & we’ll see where the ASR is, if it still exist! The trail will be there and ANYONE can use it whenever they want; same cannot be said for the rails. They monopolize a corridor they hardly use for 1/2 of their lease period; the conned the state into rehabbing a track (Old Forge to Big Moose) that gets used at most 20 times during the year. They only stay afloat because rich rail folks give them loans or donations. Selling Polar Express tickets starting at the beginning of each year is needed funding to just get them going at the start of the season. Sure going to be a hoot this year if the CORVID-19 virus kicks its ugly head back up this fall (as predicted) & then leaf peeping/polar express rides are cancelled. Are they going to have the funds to reimburse those individuals who paid already for a ride that will never happen now! I doubt it! The trail is there for use virus or no virus, same cannot be said for the train!

  5. Larry Roth says

    Having listened through the entire meeting, it’s quite clear that there was a much deeper process going on than just rubber-stamping the 2016 plan, which is all that they seemed prepared to consider.

    Chad Dawson’s reservations about the wider regional implications are very much on point, although it is clear neither he nor the rest of the board really grasp their full scope.

    They still don’t understand climate change for one thing. The big concern was how do they insure monitoring works to control snowmobile emissions from getting worse. The time for that was 30 years ago; the problem now is how fast can we bring emissions down everywhere.

    There seemed to be a barely acknowledged consensus that they had to approve this now before the 2019 Climate Control Act takes real effect and they have to get serious about it.

    When their biggest concern seems to be giving those poor snowmobilers a few more weeks to ride the trails, you know who is calling the shots on this.

  6. Dave Whitbeck says

    you gloss right over the fact that the poor little train gets an expanded length of line to improve their pathetic low ridership numbers. I guess the state still just wants to try & improve on an already proven BAD decision from years ago by keeping the ASR alive for a few more years.

    • LeRoy Hogan says

      Rail bikes are doing really well in the Adirondacks and would make a nice compliment to ASR. The rail bikes have great ridership numbers.

  7. Smitty says

    Glad to see a final decision after years of delay and good news for Tupper. Sad to see the trail portion not being completed until 2023. Hop I’m still healthy enough to use it by then.

  8. Dennis says

    With as ll the crap we get from this state is the reason why I’m leaving after living here all my life

  9. Anthony Brankman says

    It might be relevant to have reported about possible and likely legal challenges to this action. Was this discussed at the meeting or addressed in the action?

  10. Mark Miller says

    I’m curious as to why they can’t place a developed trail next to the tracks like they do in other states?

    • Dave Whitbeck says

      Maybe NY State laws prohibit it. The corridor is only 100 feet wide at its max. IN some areas it is quite narrow. Too many wet lands to have to cross.

  11. Rennie says

    If the state can’t sucker the federal government into bailing out NY finances, seems like budget cuts and tax hikes will be inevitable? And this won’t effect rail trail plans? Is there going to be honest accounting of expenditures, or now that it’s a done deal, there will be no fiscal responsibility whatsoever because no one is looking?

  12. drdirt says

    You’ll be able to use the corridor starting today, as long as construction isn’t happening on the section you hike. And go ahead and snowmobile this winter .,.,.,if ther’s enough snow.

  13. Richard says

    In an increasingly all-or-nothing world, this seems a good compromise. A wise and reasoned decision. I hope the trail is used well, and that the railroad enterprise can thrive. Congratulations on a decision well-made.

    Furthermore, there seems to be substantial opportunity for Tupper Lake. A tourism package of a day or two at the Wild Center, beginning and ending in Thendara or Utica? Lunch along the way in Beaver River Station? Great possibilities.

    • Scott Thompson says

      Sure, the whole train can sit there while some have lunch or some can get off and have lunch while the train goes on, makes 8-10 whistle stops and gets back 4-5-6 hours later.
      No, I’d rater have a steady and repeating flow of folks on bikes and hiking and 4-6 weeks more of the best business which is snowmobiling. but why would any one listen to business when they can have no taxes or employment. How sweet.

  14. Kenneth Friedel says

    As one of people in charge of the last hearing told me, it is a compromise. People make me angry when they are right. This is a compromise that will give everyone the right to travel the rail line from Tupper to Utica. This will happen in my life time. The real issue that still get ‘s my goat is. I did not like how the regular poor people of this area was pitted against each other in this whole mess. How anyone at high levels could allow or expect snowmobilers to run their sleds on steel rails. When the line is almost 100 feet wide. Any way, enough has been said and debated already. Thank you for the great articles on Tupper an North Creek. I just hope that everyone can work together now to make Tupper Lake great again. And maybe Utica, too!

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