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Home My WebLink About2022-01-17Minutes of the Dryden Rail Trail and Friends meeting Jan. 17, 2022; virtual on Zoom Attendance: Dan Lamb, Tony and Janice Bretscher, Bob Beck, Todd Bittner, Steve Winans, Chris and Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, Susan Ashdown, Judy Pierpont, Adam Engst, Kyra Stephanoff. Gwen Beck (note taker for Alice Green who was away.) Call to Order: 7:03 pm Additions to agenda: Adam Engst for Finger Lakes Runners Club (FLRC), and Susan Ashdown on use of powered devices on the trail. Introductions: And Adam Engst introduced himself to the group. He’s here to present for the FLRC. Approval of December Minutes unanimous Ithacatrails.org update- Todd reported that Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting and updating the Ithacatrails.org website and working with Gorges webservice company. Todd is helping update aspects of the website’s Dryden Rail Trail (DRT) map, parking areas and trail description (while also working with county GIS staff). He asked Diane and Chris for help with updating the description and asked people to submit photos to add to the website. Forthcoming Knickerbocker trail agreement- Dan updated us on good news from Knickerbocker Bedframe Company at the former Wilcox/Vanguard press at Hall Woods Rd. They’re bringing 70 jobs to the area. Adam asked if eminent domain is still necessary. Dan said they are being super cooperative with us and offered an easement to the town thus there’s no need to do eminent domain for this property. We still need 0.1 of an acre on the residential property. The NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) will manage the acquisition of that piece. It’s a small corner of the property next to Rt 13 away from the house and garage. Bob added that Knickerbocker has decided to make an outright donation of the property that we need for the trail rather than an easement and we will be working out the legal details including movement of the billboard. Todd mentioned that Knickerbocker’s donation will reduce the cost of the bridge project by about $30K. County Tourism Capital Grant- Todd updated us on the $50K grant and the need for an annual report on use of the trail and its connection to tourism. The grant is for the bridge which isn’t yet built and because the Game Farm Road crossing isn’t yet open, Todd set out counters on the East Ithaca Rec Way to establish baseline data of usage and found over a two-week period: 702 people one week and 858 people the second week. Todd will request from the County Convention and Visitors Bureau DRT google analytics data from the Ithacatrails.org website. Todd requested from Chris and Diane possible trail data (visits, views, posts, likes, follows, metrics) from our Facebook page and other social media sources. Adam said (in the Chat, see below) he had ideas to share on how Finger Lakes Runners Club gathers data from their races/courses. Can get data about use for exact trails. Game Farm Road Crossing- Dan reported that the Dryden Town Board approved funding the cost of the Barton & Loguidice (B&L) study for the County Highway Dept, which will give them exactly what they want for a safe crossing. The Town of Ithaca has approved sharing half the cost of the study. Safety issues remain as people continue to cross and walk along the road. Parking is an issue. Dryden has installed “No Parking” signs (which are being ignored). Need to get safety signage up ASAP, but have to wait for County Highway approval. We’re working on directing vehicles to the Stevenson Rd crossing and working on future parking there. Dan said they hope to have the B&L proposed plan completed by mid-February. B&L has the survey completed by county highway to include in their plan. Bob mentioned that the county likely will expect a work permit application detailing the proposed safety features. Game Farm Road Parking- Todd reported that he clarified with Rod Howe, Town of Ithaca Supervisor, that we will not be pursing parking at Game Farm Road but are exploring an off-road parking lot near the Stevenson Rd crossing. Trail concerns at Game Farm- Todd reported there were two flooded areas of the trail between Stevenson Rd and the eastern trestle. Ditches and possible culverts may be needed and the issue will be reported to Rick Young. Also, highway trail crossing signs need to be installed at Stevenson Rd crossing. Adam Engst- Adam reported on the FLRC “Challenge” which was developed for people to run independently and time themselves. This was developed in response to the pandemic ban on races in 2020. 10 courses were developed. Very successful. Some people completed all 10 in 24hrs. They want to develop 10 new courses this year (April-August) using the DRT for two of these courses. Course 1: East Ithaca Rec Way out to Rt 13 and back (7.5 miles) and Course 2: Jim Schug trail - Agway to Purvis Rd and back (8 miles). In the chat Adam will share the courses and a link to their photo album. The FLRC is very responsible in their land use and have a stats page which monitors their land use. For numbers of runners in the FLRC Challenge on East Hill Rec Way in the last year: https://challenge.fingerlakesrunners.org/Log/All/233198 Dryden Rail Trail: https://onthegomap.com/s/ggebr35g Jim Schug Trail: https://onthegomap.com/s/3jm7eimg Photos showing signs: https://www.yogile.com/flrc-challenge-2021#51m Stats: https://challenge.fingerlakesrunners.org/Statistics Course: https://fingerlakesrunners.org/challenge/east-hill-rec-way/ Bob is pleased that they want to use the DRT and asked Adam to contact Marty Conger of the Dryden Rec Dept to coordinate the programming and details for their use. Adam will ask Dryden Rec about an insurance certificate and get it to them if needed. Bob reminded Adam that the FLRC had offered to install mile markers on the trail and Adam said he was reminded of this at their last meeting as well. Bob said since the trail isn’t complete and continuous in the middle it makes sense to wait on the installation until the trial is complete so the markers can be installed end to end. Adam said the club has wheels to make accurate ¼-mile measurements. Adam said they want more courses to start and end at places where runners can gather and support local businesses (i.e.: Brooktondale Market, Lansing Scoops.) Chris complimented Adam on the stats the club has of people running and likes the idea of having these stats for the trails. Adam said the stats are added regularly by participants and they love having it. Todd said we’re hoping to open Game Farm Rd crossing by April 15th. If this does not happen what will FLRC do? Adam said he can adjust the courses accordingly, so no worries. Todd discussed parking at the various locations along the DRT that could be used for FLRC challenge courses. Possibilities could be Stevenson/Dodge Road and Monkey Run. Plan for Kiosks- Diane talked about starting up the Design Committee to work on location of and graphic panels for a kiosk at the Game Farm. She reported that Todd and Bob are on board, and Chris, Susan and Tony volunteered. She then said we need to coordinate with the DEC for their ideas on location and kiosk information- all important because this is the western entrance to the DRT and we should have DRT branding on the kiosk there. Diane will check in with other former design committee members to see if they’re interested. Diane also will send out a doodle-poll to determine a meeting time. Zoom will probably be easiest for everyone. Bob mentioned we have seven pre-made kiosk roof tops waiting to be used/installed that are stored at DPW. Bob mentioned three ideas for panel information: Game Farm history, natural history of Cascadilla Creek, and railroad history including trestles and the East Ithaca Station and the need for any old photographs we can obtain. Bob mentioned that three kiosks are already completed on the DRT, Dryden to Freeville, and time to move on and do more. Powered Devices on the Trail- Susan Ashdown talked about micromobility devices and the important use of ebikes on the trails, including their use by the senior-citizen population. What ebike information do we want on our signs? She also talked about the need to be discriminating as to which motorized devices should be allowed on the trail, many types of which are not compatible with our multi-use trail, such as the gasoline powered 350 lb. DTV shredder that travels at 25mph (soon to be electric?) And we can’t say that all electric vehicles are allowed; we must be careful. There are three classes of ebikes: Class 1: pedal assisted -max speed 20 mph ~40-70 lbs Class 2: pedal assisted with throttle- max speed 20 mph ~40-70 lbs Class 3: pedal assisted with throttle- cuts off at 28mph Susan suggested allowing Class 1 and Class 2 but NOT Class 3 [which is the case across the country for most multi-use trails]. Other micromobility devices like motorized wheelchairs- top speed 7mph, and motorized adult tricycles are probably okay. Gasoline-powered devices are not okay. And many electric-powered scooters, mopeds, hoverboards etc., may not be okay. For safety reasons one must consider speed and weight and have both a speed limit and a weight limit. Our signage could say: Classes 1 and 2 ebikes allowed, 20mph and ____weight limit. Kiera shared her experience on trails where ebikes were being used irresponsibly [but emailed Bob later saying that trail etiquette could remedy this]. Todd mentioned that the trails at present can’t handle more than 20mph but future stone dust surface may change that. Todd put in chat the text from our boilerplate easement: "The easement to Town for the Trail is established for recreational and commuting trail purposes, such as, but not limited to, walking, running, skiing, snowshoeing, bicycling, horseback riding, bird watching, nature study, and the use of electric-assist bicycles and power-driven mobility devices by persons who have mobility impairments." How do we let the public know the rules and how can we enforce them? Bob said trail users enforcing rules is key by reminding people of trail etiquette. He said as trails get busy faster people must pass on the left (when approaching others from behind), saying “on your left” or ring a bell; slower users should stay to the right. Susan said she likes the hierarchy of rules on our signs- who yields to whom. Will work with Diane to improve and clarify signs. In Chat, Adam posted a link to Dutch rules: https://www.holland-cycling.com/blog/275-new-laws-for-speed- pedelecs-in-2017 Bob will send out two articles to the task force from Rails to Trails Conservancy about micromobility devices: https://www.railstotrails.org/resource-library/resources/micromobility-devices-on-multiuse- trails/ https://www.railstotrails.org/build-trails/trail-building-toolbox/management-and- maintenance/e-bikes/ Bard and Gina Prentiss- Bob mentioned the passing of two dear community members. Bob spoke of his long friendship with Bard a naturalist, photographer, artist, and teacher. Bard worked on the natural history signs along the Jim Schug trail and was a strong advocate of our current project. The Cayuga Bird Club has offered to make a donation for a memorial bench in Bard and Gina’s memory. Chris urged Bob to talk with Suan Yong, president of the Cayuga Bird Club about this. Next meeting was set for 7 pm February 21, 2022, venue TBA. Adjournment. At 8:27 pm Respectfully submitted: Gwen Beck