2.1 Durham Belt Line

07 2.2 SOUTHERN TIER TRAIL

Southern Tier Trail is a proposed trail connecting Erie and Cattaraugus Counties in Western New York, following the Buffalo-Pittsburgh rail corridor. This trail features on-road and off-road routes. This trail spans 80.1 miles. It is recommended for pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians and snowmobilers. This project was broken into twenty-three subsections. These focused on connection to existing trails, population density, right-of-way availability, public support, municipal support, access to amenities/destinations and maintenance support. A large emphasis on trail connections drives the project. Positive impacts of this include health and well-being of the users. This helps with the likelihood of heart and respiratory diseases. Another positive impact is safety, allowing bicyclists and pedestrians a safe passageway without the interaction of vehicles. Transportation is also a positive impact, as this trail can be used to increase mobility and accessibility to those who don't have access to a vehicle or public transit. Lastly, the trail positively impacts the economy of the area, boosting tourism, property values, development of new businesses and outdoor recreation.

To get public input on the trail, various meetings were held with the stakeholders, homeowners, municipality leaders, nonprofits and trail users. These meetings were held to collect more specific feedback. GOBike also engaged in one-on-one outreach, calling to municipal and community groups or organization leaders to gather information, impressions, and local knowledge as inputs to draft planning documents. They also held public meetings, allowing the public to give their input online in maps. This helped gauge what the community actually wanted for the trail.4 This relates to our project through its importance of greenspace and trails. Trails impact communities positively, through health and wellness. These spaces can help create a more community driven area, and pride in nature.

SOUTHERN TIER TRAIL FEASIBILITY STUDY

FEBRUARY 2021

4 Southern Tier Trail Feasibility Study. Southern Tier Trail. GObike. (2021). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QHZY0ejqxbf2lAIzB0XcgdlJ4sEWujq_/view.