Another Hiking Article...

Rochester, NY – Trail Town of the East

Portland, Oregon is well known as a trail town. According to Michael Jones of Alta Transportation Consulting, "Rochester, NY is the Portland of the east." Mr. Jones is in Rochester as a consultant for the Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, developing both short-term and long-term recommendations for the improvement of existing trails in the region and the development of new trails.

He's got a lot of help and a lot of raw material to work from. Rochester has been a hotbed of grassroots activity with volunteer organizations forming within its towns with the express purpose of building and maintaining trails. It started with Crescent Trails in Perinton and spread to Victor Hiking Trails in Victor, then to numerous other communities. Recently these volunteer organizations and government agencies involved in trails have formed The Genesee Region Trails Coalition, led by Carl Foss of the Mendon Foundation. On a cooperative basis, this group is working to leverage their individual activities to raise awareness and usage of the trails.

Even before forming the coalition and enlisting the planning and development assistance of the Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, these organizations managed to build over 260 miles of multi-use trails and at least 70 neighborhood hiking trails. "It's a monumental achievement," says Sue Freeman the author of guidebooks to the trails. She and her husband Rich have hiked, biked, or skied every mile of these trails while researching their guidebooks "Take A Hike," "Take Your Bike," and "Snow Trails."

Genesee Regional Transportation Authority recently finished holding a series of public input workshops for their Regional Trails Initiative. "The future looks even brighter for Rochester trails" says Freeman.

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This article courtesy of www.letsgohiking.com.
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