Says it will assess after first projects open
The Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail is delaying a decision on a segment of its 7.5-mile linear park between Dockside Park and Little Stony Point, which has drawn backlash from some elected officials and residents who fear a surge of new visitors to the Village of Cold Spring.
Chris Davis, HHFT’s chair, and Amy Kacala, its executive director, revealed the long-rumored decision in an Aug. 16 letter to Philipstown Supervisor John Van Tassel, Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley and Nelsonville Mayor Chris Winward. In April, the three officials had jointly declared their opposition to a Cold Spring portion of the trail, which will extend to Long Dock Park in Beacon.
HHFT said the preferred route from Cold Spring remains an elevated multi-use path skirting a half-mile stretch of the Hudson River between Dockside Park and Little Stony Point. It would represent the southern section of the Shoreline Trail, which pedestrians and bikers would use to travel along the river between Cold Spring and Breakneck Ridge. Dockside is a state park maintained by the village.
Opposition to the Cold Spring section, “rooted in skepticism regarding patterns and numbers of projected visitation,” said Davis and Kacala, makes it “sensible” to wait until the Fjord Trail’s Breakneck Connector and Bridge and the renovation of Dutchess Manor are complete and operating, as early as 2027.
Both are expected to be key contributors to HHFT’s goal of reducing the congestion on Route 9D driven by hikers on Breakneck Ridge. Metro-North’s Breakneck station is also slated for an upgrade, and HHFT is planning a shuttle to ferry visitors between train stations, parking areas and trails; new signage; and a phone app that visitors can use to plan their trips.
“It seemed logical that any decision regarding the eventual routing of the final half-mile of the trail connecting Little Stony Point to the Cold Spring Metro-North train station can be postponed until the data regarding changes in visitation can be gathered and evaluated,” said Kacala on Wednesday (Sept. 4).
HHFT said that state parks, as part of its environmental review of the Fjord Trail, will analyze routes from Cold Spring other than the Shoreline Trail. HHFT will also provide Cold Spring with funding to mitigate the impact of tourism, said Davis and Kacala.
Concern about more visitors was central to a letter sent by Winward, Foley and Van Tassel to state parks, in which they opposed HHFT’s proposal to have the Shoreline Trail start in Cold Spring. Siting the trail there would “irreversibly change the landscape, viewshed and character of the village,” they said.
A group called Protect the Highlands, led by former Cold Spring Mayor Dave Merandy and comprised of other Philipstown residents, has also been a vocal opponent of the Fjord Trail.
In May, two village trustees, Aaron Freimark and Eliza Starbuck, wrote to state parks to say they supported having the Shoreline Trail begin at Dockside Park. A Harris Poll commissioned by HHFT and released in June also found widespread regional support for the Fjord Trail, scheduled for completion in 2031.
In Nelsonville, Winward said on Tuesday (Sept. 3) that HHFT had yet to respond to “clarifying questions,” but she felt “grateful” that the organization “committed to waiting for a Dockside connection” until the impact of visitors to the Cold Spring area can be assessed.
“We must ensure that the draw of this new attraction does not become the tipping point of over-tourism for our small community,” said Winward, adding that she would also like to see the introduction of a ticketing system like the ones used at heavily visited parks like Arches National Park in Utah.
Foley said the Village Board has yet to discuss the letter, and that it “does not accurately represent” what she thought HHFT was proposing “for a period of construction, pause, assessment and future engagement” with the town and villages.
“More troublingly, the letter clearly states HHFT’s departure from its foundational, core mission to relieve existing over-visitation in the village and assure public safety,” she said.
State parks approved the construction of the Fjord Trail’s first phase, the Breakneck Connector and Bridge, in December 2022. The agency conducted a separate environmental review for the $85 million segment because it is deemed to have independent value in reducing congestion, even if other parts of the trail are never built.
HHFT also considers the Dutchess Manor renovation, which includes restoring the original 1868 structure and demolishing additions made between 1947 and 2007, to have standalone value to improve safety on Route 9D. The Fishkill Planning Board last month began its review of that project, which also calls for 180 parking spaces.
State parks’ environmental review of the entire project, which HHFT says will be completed next year, will outline the impacts of the trail on residents and the landscape, and assess alternative routes between Cold Spring and Little Stony Point. All “viable” options will be reviewed, “whether or not they are ever selected or built,” said Kacala.
Among the alternatives, she said, is one suggested by residents that could pass along the eastern edge of Dockside “without ever touching village streets.” Under that option, Dockside would become a “meander,” or an off-trail option.
Davis and Kacala said that although they are only legally required to reduce the impacts from the trail, HHFT is willing to help fund infrastructure to relieve the problems created by existing tourist traffic in Cold Spring before the Fjord Trail opens but after state parks completes its environmental review. “We can move forward in assisting the village with pursuing grants and making some grants ourselves,” they wrote.
I am sad that The Current did not have a reporter at the Philipstown Town Board meeting on Sept. 5 to report on the response read by Supervisor John Van Tassel, followed up by another response by former Supervisor Bill Mazzuca and a critical response from state Sen. Rob Rolison, who copied Gov. Kathy Hochul.
How can this paper fully report on a subject when it does not have a reporter in the room? Instead, there is an article written based on an HHFT press release. Thankfully, the entire meeting, including the public comment, is documented on video by the Town of Philipstown.
Thank you to Van Tassel, Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley and Nelsonville Mayor Chris Winward for continuously fighting for a voice at the table and shedding light on a non-transparent process. It feels like the tide is turning toward a more sensible solution to our tourism issues, and with voices such as Sen. Rolison and County Executive Kevin Byrne calling for more community input and data analysis, the process can only get better.
Hopefully, the HHFT representatives in the room, including Chris Davis, chair of the HHFT board, and Andy Chmar (who walked in late, after the letters of criticism were read) start to open their minds to the many alternatives. We need a trail, not a promenade.
Here’s an idea that might alleviate concerns about a surge of visitors that would overwhelm Cold Spring: Helicopters! Build landing pads at Little Stony Point and in the village, conveniently but discreetly located, and require visitors to use their services.
It would increase the community’s carbon footprint but decrease the footprints from the throngs trudging up Main Street and inundating all the shops, eateries and businesses with all their unwelcome buying and spending. Problems solved!
Is all this before or after the see what the rotary intersections do to the traffic the trail was supposed to improve? Making irreversible changes at Fair Street and the Dutchess Manor intersections with Route 9D seems a poor “preliminary.”
It is good news that the promoters of the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail have temporarily recognized their huge mistake in wanting to have the “trail” begin in Cold Spring. As a New York-New Jersey Trail Conference steward at Little Stony Point’s Washburn Trailhead, and as an assistant caretaker at Little Stony Point during the mid-1990s, I have witnessed the transformation of a once-sleepy location to a major tourist destination on good-weather days.
The traffic and parking issues, as well as pedestrians crossing and re-crossing the roadway at Little Stony Point, create a bottleneck and an ongoing dangerous situation. That small place and small roadway were not designed for over-tourism, traffic lines and people attempting to safely park or pull out along Route 9D or at the 50-car parking lot.
Scenic Hudson’s vision, to build another 50-car lot there, cutting down the woods and potentially damaging nesting habitat for the cerulean warbler, would be another step in the suburbanization and paving of Cold Spring and the Hudson River Valley.
Anyone who advocates a Fjord Trail that starts or ends at Little Stony Point is out of touch. That spot is probably worse than Dockside, which is also not viable. The only logical place is Breakneck Ridge or Dutchess Manor.
We’ve been Beacon residents for over 30 years. We recently visited Cold Spring and didn’t notice the small sign that said “Metered Parking.” We ate at Le Bouchon, shopped and spent money in a few shops, and for our patronage, we were given a $75 parking ticket.
I don’t mind metered parking, glad to pay it. But the young man walking up the street ticketing car after car said, “Sorry, once I write the ticket, I can’t rescind it.”
When we asked where the meter was to pay for parking, he pointed up the street to a location he (and we) couldn’t see. It feels like the village is trying to monetize parking in an unfair way. How about a sign that stands out?
We just happened to read this article about the village’s objection to the Fjord Trail that said the village doesn’t want the additional visitors the trail may bring. Don’t worry, we’ll never come back. I hope the taxpayers on Main Street appreciate the Town Board’s decision to rip off their patrons.
When I told my husband I was writing The Current, and complained that it wasn’t clear that there was metered parking or where exactly one would pay, he said the signage should make it obvious there is a parking fee and how and where a driver should pay. Especially when the ticket is $75 for a first offense.
Couldn’t agree more, Judith! Without tourism, many towns such as Cold Spring would collapse. The thanks we get for supporting them? A parking ticket! Total arrogance on their part, and they won’t be getting my money again, either.
Just to clear up things, here is a link to the video of Town Board meeting. See for yourself the current state of what’s going on. The discussion starts eight minutes in.
With their brave letter opposing Dockside as the terminus, Mayors Foley and Winward and Supervisor Van Tassel acted as execu-tives and displayed their knowledge based on meetings with high-level MTA legal and engineering officials, including the head of Metro-North. They were not guided, as has been seen in some supporters of the Fjord Trail, by emotion. MTA indicated that a 5-foot-high, bermed trail along the west side of the tracks, coupled with an 8-foot-high fence on the inside and a 4-foot-tall fence on the outside, would make the climate mitigation work that it is legally required to do impossible.
What’s more, residents on Fair Street would have a 13-foot-high fence, taller than a train car, to look at instead of the river view. HHFT dropped a slick video in May touting its plan and did not once mention the residents of Cold Spring.
We depend on the train. How can you propose compromising that lifeline for a fantasy bike ride?
A while ago HHFT proclaimed that the Cold Spring Metro-North station would no longer be considered as parking for the Fjord Trail, and there would be no trail parking within the village (how they would police that was a mystery). But, true to form, in the request for proposals that was put out for third-party shuttle operators, the train station is right there, along with the gem that only one in 10 buses need to be accessible.
That means folks using wheelchairs — who supposedly want this trail the most — will be waiting a long time for rides. I suppose they could drive into Cold Spring, since, according to the letter from Chris Davis, HHFT would “have no responsibility for the mitigation of the impacts on the village of existing visitation.” Wasn’t that the goal of the original plan?
The trail known as alternate Route 6 is not ADA-compliant and leads to Dockside. It also requires cutting down hundreds of trees, though to be fair, that’s what HHFT has planned for the Shoreline Trail. So much for “access to the wild.”
The one trail that does satisfy all the issues was presented on Aug. 21 by Protect the Highlands. It takes folks on a fairly level route to Little Stony Point, along the tracks on the east side, where there are no residents, hooks into unused village property, and goes down Fair Street on new sidewalks (that HHFT generously said it would help seek grants for) past Mayor’s Park and residents who would still be able to see the river. It makes Little Stony Point accessible, something that could have been done many years ago, but the goal was somehow lost.
As Town Board Member Jason Angell alluded to on Sept. 5, it may be time to revisit the original plans. This trail must be included in the environmental review. Little Stony Point is enjoyed by many families who live in Peekskill, and I can confidently say that when the Fjord Trail starts charging $20 a car to park, that will no longer be their first choice. In fact, why are we contemplating spending this huge amount of public money in one of the richest towns in New York and calling it equity? It’s an economic development scheme and has been touted as such by someone close to it, and it seems silly to call it anything else.
Well said, Grace Kennedy! The mayor of Beacon has given the green light to anything regarding the Fjord Trail north of Breakneck. As someone who hikes the trails regularly, I have never encountered the mayor on any of them. If I had, I would have been happy to point out the destruction of habitat that is ongoing at Mount Beacon and elsewhere due to the huge increase in foot traffic.
It seems that many folks who support the Fjord Trail are more excited about tourism than in preserving wildlife habitat. Sometimes the best way to preserve habitat is to keep it free from public access. We have more than enough parks that are accessible to anyone who wants to use them. Bravo to Protect the Highlands and the leaders of Cold Spring and Nelsonville for putting the unique character and beauty of our area ahead of profit.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Grace. The state of Fair Street is a disgrace, and HHFT should be obligated to contribute significantly to the infrastructure of this roadway no matter where the trail begins and ends. If the trail begins at Little Stony Point, some visitors will proceed into Cold Spring by walking along Route 9D and Fair Street, which need sidewalks. Hikers will drive to Little Stony Point and/or Dutchess Manor, rather than choking Main Street trying to find parking at Dockside. Proper sidewalks and crosswalks leading to Little Stony Point will benefit all Philipstown residents.
Chris Davis’s letter, the subject of last night’s Town Board discussion, offers to postpone a decision on the Dockside entry to the linear park. It’s great that HHFT is thinking about the feasibility of their plan, but postponement will do nothing to help judge the impact of massive visitation on the village, the town and the environment if there are entries at Dockside, the east side of the tracks on lower Main Street or at Little Stony Point. What we need is real information from HHFT. Their idealized renderings of tree-shaded paths do nothing to inform us of what is planned.
HHFT estimates that 68 percent of visitors will come by car. How will Route 9D possibly handle those cars and shuttle buses heading to and from the new parking fields? Show us your plans for traffic circles near Little Stony Point and Hartsook Lane. Show us designs for the shoreline boardwalks. Do people know that there will be more that 300 pilings in the river? How much deforestation is planned? The last design we saw of the Lower Overlook at the base of Breakneck Mountain was a massive concrete ziggurat-like structure dressed up with rocks and bushes. If that’s still the plan for that iconic mountain, this community should know.
As a final point, Davis states that although HHFT has “no responsibility for the mitigation of the impacts on the Village of existing visitation, it will collaborate with the village in addressing some of these issues.” This does not bode well for the vague promises of HHFT’s future maintenance of the linear park. Members of the community need facts and concrete commitments before they can properly consider the enormity of this plan.
A delay is hugely important and needed. The effects of the northern pieces of the trail should be studied slowly and carefully before any irreversible changes to Cold Spring or Dockside Park are made. Many people do not oppose the Fjord Trail project but have deep reservations about a Dockside extension. Slow, incremental, consultative deliberation is much better than rushed and divisive construction.
I was downright chuffed to hear so many of my my friends, neighbors, and local officials come out and voice their opposition, on Sept. 5, and here in The Current, to the more irresponsible elements of the HHFT masterplan, i.e., the Dockside to Little Stony Point tourist ramp as well as the alternative routes, to establish conveyance willy-nilly their mega-trail system on top of our village already inundated with foot and vehicular traffic. I heard very few voices in support of the system, and little of what they stated approached practical arguments. That is because the meeting focused on practicum, of which there can be few if any demonstrable pro-arguments.
The two-year moratorium on Cold Spring access to a concrete walkway in the water, et al., is the most sensible idea I’ve heard in some time. This position calls for due diligence studies in the matter that were not considered by the developers with any real conviction or bona fide motivation; who would prefer to run their plan rough-shod without taking the pains to measure impact, or rather, to assess impacts fait accompli. That’s why I believe large parts of the development are being prosecuted irresponsibly, as residents have made crystal clear in their collective opposition.
I think the majority of the Village of Cold Spring — its business owners and its residents — will lose out by waiting to see if the village can join the Fjord Trail in the dim future. Especially since an excellent alternative now exists that could satisfy the mayor’s and others’ concerns.
From the Leonard Sparks piece above: ” ‘Among the alternatives,’ ” [Kacala] said, is one suggested by residents that could pass along the eastern edge of Dockside ‘without ever touching village streets.’ Under that option, Dockside would become a ‘meander,’ or… ‘off-trail option.'”
Perhaps Village Trustees Aaron Friemark and Eliza Starbuck, who’ve written in favor of the Shoreline Trail, might explore this “eastern” idea now, as we don’t know what money will be around in the future.
Also, the vision is (literally) right: Running along the inland, or eastern edge of Dockside Park is a gnarly gravel driveway with no environmental value — already a trail of sorts (although too much a dog-mess receptacle). Such an eastern-edge trail would not be in the viewshed of visitors looking at the Hudson from Dockside Park. It could even beautify unsightly areas on the shoreline between Dockside and Riverview Restaurant.
“[HHFT Chair Chris] Davis and Kacala said that although they are only legally required to reduce the impacts from the trail, HHFT is willing to help fund infrastructure to relieve the problems created by existing tourist traffic in Cold Spring before the Fjord Trail opens but after state parks completes its environmental review,” wrote Sparks.
I feel as though many residents and business owners in favor of the trail never organized because perhaps I/we/they assumed the trail was a no-brainer as long as it was well-studied. Haven’t there been 10 years+ of studies? Traffic included?
Cold Spring’s store and restaurant owners struggle enough to stay in business thanks to fickle weather, restricted parking, and competition from Beacon.
Finally, Arches National Park is not a great comparison**, but the Adirondacks are – one of New York’s, and the nation’s, most glorious parks with numerous villages small cities within it. I hope to walk the Shoreline Trail in my lifetime,
(Ticketed entry to the trail is a decent idea; people could attain free paper tickets or QR codes, and locals could be employed to check them, if experts believe it’s important to control a Shoreline entry in such a way.)
The more people fight the trail, the more they prevent crowding issues from being addressed. [via Facebook]
Forget the elevated walkway. Start at Dutchess Manor and everyone will be happy. [via Facebook]
This is such a beautiful, world-class project. I hope they start it at Dockside. [via Facebook]
A promenade from Little Stony Point to Breakneck will ruin Little Stony Point and irreversibly change its character, landscape and viewshed. [via Facebook]
We won’t get the smaller path from Cold Spring to Garrison that the Philipstown Trail Committee proposed either, proving that Cold Spring is not only hostile to tourists but also to its residents. We need leadership on this issue, not just opposition. [via Instagram]
The work done at Long Dock in Beacon and the environs has improved the area remarkably. Has it increased visitors? Of course. Has it had a positive effect on business? Naturally, particularly small ones. Don’t forget the sales taxes collected.
Living in Fishkill, I welcome improvements to the area’s nature trails and infrastructure. If Cold Spring doesn’t want that, although its Main Street could be improved, OK with me. Direct all that up here. [via Facebook]
Don’t forget all the garbage left behind on the trails. You’ll need personnel to clean it up, and who pays? [via Facebook]
Why HHFT is hellbent on running a trail through a quaint village instead of the alternate route via Little Stony Point is beyond comprehension. It will affect residents along its village pathway, while the rest of the trail will not, or it will be some distance away. Poor planning can possibly be irreversible. [via Facebook]
This is the rare stage beyond NIMBY: BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything). [via Instagram]