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Astorino Reveals Details Of Plan To Add 6 Miles Of Biking, Walking Trailway

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- The details of a plan to add six miles of biking and walking trails to to Westchester County's 150 miles of existing trailways have been made available on the county's website, said County Executive Rob Astorino.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino

Photo Credit: Skip Pearlman

The Tarrytown-Kensico Trailway/Bikeway Plan, which was prepared by the county's Department of Planning, highlights a preferred route that would provide the "best interconnections in the county between transportation hubs, business districts, neighborhoods, parks, schools and recreational facilities."

"A 2008 County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation survey determined that trailways are the number-one rated recreational facility that county residents want," Astorino said in a statement. "The Tarrytown-Kensico Trailway/Bikeway Plan is another step forward toward connecting the county's trailways and further enhancing the terrific quality of life we enjoy in the county."

According to Astorino, the trailway plan describes the criteria applied to assess, analyze and determine the preferred route, which was determined after the county conferred with various government, municipal, business and education stakeholders, including the New York State Department of Transportation, the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, Consolidated Edison and the Bio Med Real Estate Investment Trust, Westchester Community College, and Sleepy Hollow High School.

The plan provides the schematics and cost estimates for the route which would run west-to-east, connecting the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown to the South and North County Trailways in Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh, Astorino said. The trail would continue eastward to connect to the Bronx River Pathway at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla.

According to the county executive, the Valhalla section of the trailway - a mix of off-street paths and shared road lanes for bicyclists - would run from the Kensico Dam Plaza County Park past the Valhalla Metro North Station, along the Taconic State Parkway and through the Kensico Cemetery.

The preferred route would also integrate into an existing trail around the Tarrytown Lakes and would utilize existing sidewalks and streets in the various villages and hamlets, Astorino said, adding that it would link major employment centers in Westchester County, including Grasslands Reservation, Westchester Medical Center, New York Medical College and Westchester Community College in Valhalla, the Cross Westchester Executive Park in Elmsford, Regeneron and the EF Academy in Tarrytown.

The first-phase designed would be the section connecting the Tarrytown Lakes to the Grasslands Reservation in Valhalla. Requests for funding the design and construction phases of the preferred trailway will be made through Westchester County's annual capital budget. Design is expected to begin in 2017.

View a copy of the plan here.

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