HVRTA 2023 Annual Meeting
More than 120 people turned out for a public gathering Oct. 1 to learn about plans to expand the Harlem Valley Rail Trail from Philmont through Ghent to Chatham, N.Y.
The meeting at the Ghent VFW Hall attracted longtime supporters of the trail as well as newcomers and officials from a number of towns in the region. They heard from leaders of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, the nonprofit group that helps oversee the trail’s growth and maintenance, as well as the landscape architectural firm creating a construction-ready plan for the 8-mile addition, MKM Landscape Architecture of New York.
Mark Morrison, principal of the firm, displayed maps and photos of the proposed route and Phil Meeks, chair of the HVRTA board, gave a slide show about the history of the rail trail as well as a glimpse of a five-year strategic plan for its future expansion. An extensive question and answer period followed their presentations.
“We’re thrilled by the number of people who came out to hear about the rail trail’s expansion plans and the enthusiasm they expressed toward the project,” said Mr. Meeks. “Their support will be a vital factor in moving the work forward.”
Mr. Morrison’s firm is creating a shovel-ready engineering and construction plan for the new trail section, which will link the village of Philmont to the town of Ghent and village of Chatham. MKM Landscape Architecture has extensive experience in designing trails, including 2.5 miles of earlier extensions of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
The new, fully paved section will dramatically increase the trail’s range and bring it to central and northern Columbia County for the first time. It will travel through farmland, fields and woods and run atop a stone-arch railroad bridge in Ghent from the 1800s. The trail will end in the village of Chatham near the planned new Shaker Museum.
Funding for the $500,000 construction design plan comes from a state grant and local funds to be raised by the rail trail association, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Construction of the new section, whose cost hasn’t been determined, will require additional funding.
September 2023
Design Work Begins for Philmont-to-Chatham Rail Trail Expansion
MILLERTON, N.Y.--Work has begun to create a shovel-ready construction plan for a new section of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Columbia County that will link the village of Philmont to the town of Ghent and Chatham village.
The construction-ready documents are being designed by MKM Landscape Architecture of New York under contract to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, the nonprofit community group that helps oversee the expansion and maintenance of the trail.
“We are thrilled to be taking the next step in the expansion of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail,” said Phil Meeks, chair of the HVRTA board. “This new 8-mile section will dramatically increase the trail’s footprint and bring it to central and northern Columbia County for the first time.”
The new paved trail section will traverse scenic woods and farmland in Ghent and pass over a historic stone-arch railroad bridge constructed in the 1800s. It will terminate in the village of Chatham near the planned new Shaker Museum.
Funding for the $500,000 construction plan comes from a state grant and local funds raised by the rail trail association, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Construction of the new section, whose cost hasn’t been determined, will require additional government and local funding.
MKM Landscape Architecture has extensive experience in designing trails, including 2.5 miles of earlier extensions of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
The Harlem Valley Rail Trail currently consists of 26 paved miles that link the Metro-North Railroad station in Wassaic to Copake. The association’s ultimate goal is a 46-mile continuous trail from Wassaic to Chatham following the path of the onetime New York and Harlem Railroad.
December 2022
Harlem Valley Rail Trail Awarded Planning Grant for Philmont-Chatham Expansion
MILLERTON, N.Y.--The Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association has been awarded a $375,000 state grant to design a new segment of the trail that will link the village of Philmont with the village of Chatham.
The grant, from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, will be combined with a $125,000 local match to pay for fully engineered and permitted construction documents for this new section. The trail’s northernmost segment currently ends in Hillsdale’s hamlet.
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of this important grant, which will further our goal of a continuous, paved trail from Wassaic to Chatham,” said Dick Hermans, chair of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail Association, the nonprofit group that advocates for the trail.
“We are excited to be creating new partnerships in the communities that this section of trail will pass through.”
Mr. Hermans said fundraising for the required matching amount will begin immediately. Those wishing to donate can go to the group’s website, hvrt.org.
Once the design and construction documents are complete the organization will seek funding from grants and donations to undertake the construction of the new trail segment.
Currently, the trail consists of two sections totaling about 26 miles that pass through rural Dutchess and Columbia County landscapes.
Since the mid-1980s, the rail trail association has been working on an eventual 46-mile trail that will link Wassaic to Chatham on the former right of way of the New York Central Railroad Harlem Division.
