Thanks to Streetsblog for the press, albeit it was about Rails with Trails in general, but hey – we’ll take it 😉

Let’s face it – rail corridors often present themselves as potential multiple use corridors. Why? Well, read the article, but here’s a snippet:

They utilize antiquated infrastructure. Many rail-trails — including the C&O Canal Towpath that stretches from the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC, to Cumberland, Maryland, 185 miles away — are built on the towpaths of old canals. Those are paths where oxen would walk, pulling barges behind them. Suffice it to say, transportation has advanced since those days and the oxen are out of work. Railroads often took over those canal corridors. Jerry Walls said SEDA-COG is in the process of conveying their towpath to the North Branch Canal Trail. “We don’t need that,” he said. “But we’re going to keep the canal bed itself as a safety barrier adjacent to our railroad.” Asking just for the towpath and not the canal is a good approach to take with railroads, he counsels.

Looking beyond just the Livingston Avenue Bridge to connections beyond, the Patroon Creek Greenway, a portion of this trail along an active rail corridor, could form the backbone of the Albany bike network.