EVGV Trail Moves Forward
EVGV Trail Moves Forward
Community meeting announces grant funding and contractor selection
A public forum on the Ellicottville-Great Valley Trail (EVGV Trail, for short) took place last month at the Ellicottville Town Center. The forum was attended by community members, business owners, planners, town board members, and those interested in hearing more about the proposed project. EllicottvilleNOW caught up with Kate O’Stricker, Senior Development Specialist for the Cattaraugus County Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism, and EVGV Trail board member, for comments.
“The meeting went really well,” O’Stricker said by way of phone interview. “We had probably 35 people attend, which is great; a lot of faces that I didn’t recognize, so that was good, too; we knew that we got out there to places we had not expected.”
First proposed in 2011 after receiving community feedback, an EVGV Trail committee was formed by lifelong Ellicottville resident and Town Board member, Ken Hinman. O’Stricker then joined the board in 2012. Including a timeline of the EVGV Trail milestones in her forum presentation, O’Stricker included that a Master Plan for the trail was completed in 2014.
“I work for Cattaraugus County as part of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism, so not only do I sit on the EVGV Trail Board, I also do county-wide trail work as well,” she explained.
At the public forum, O’Stricker, along with four other presenters, shared their insights via PowerPoint presentations during the two-hour-long session. Joining O’Stricker as presenters were Justin Booth, Executive Director of GoBIKE out of Buffalo, who presented on the proposed Southern Tier Trail; and Paula Jones, Data & Mapping Coordinator for Parks & Trails New York along with Carl Schoenthal, President of the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway (FOGVG), who both presented on the benefits of trail towns and the envisioned expansion of the Empire State Trail (EST) Network.
O’Stricker continued, “I was able to work with Justin to get a grant for the Southern Tier Trail, a 52-mile design and alignment project, which includes the EVGV Trail, so basically we will be able to initially get that alignment for the EVGV Trail and do all the design that we need for the EVGV Trail out of this grant.”
Through the procurement of state and federal funding, an approximate $7 million grant was secured which will go towards the alignment and design of the two trail projects. From the Ralph Wilson Foundation funded feasibility study conducted in 2022 for the Southern Tier Trail, the study concluded that an estimated 2,210 jobs will be created, and an estimated $15.7 million in sales could be brought to the region annually through the creation of the proposed trail.
When asked how long the project will take, O’Stricker said that it will take about three years to complete. “We are working on doing the alignment right now, which is basically where we’re at for the EVGV Trail is narrowing down exactly where the alignment and easements are going to go, then the design work will begin.”
Using a request for proposal process, two contractors were selected, one for design and engineering. GoBIKE was selected as the Public Process contractor for the grant. “They will be doing the public process; they’re actually helping us reach out to landowners, the village, town, working on the alignment,” she said. “Then we have Colliers; they will be doing the actual design of the trails.”
The proposed multi-use 15-mile-long EVGV Trail will connect such town favorites as the Ellicottville Village Park, Nannen Arboretum, Ellicottville Town Center, Tim & Bonnie’s Pizza, Ellicottville Memorial Library, Tim Hortons, the Post Office, local businesses, and housing complexes. Commencing at the Holiday Valley Tubing Park, the trail will end at Ellicottville Central School. Future plans for the EVGV Trail include connecting to the Southern Tier Trail upon its completion, and the expansion into Great Valley. The EVGV Trail will make up a portion of the 52-mile Empire State Trail Network spanning through 11 Western New York municipalities.
The proposed Southern Tier Trail will begin at the Shoreline Trail in Buffalo and follow along the Buffalo-Pittsburgh rail corridor, traversing cities and towns through Erie and Cattaraugus County, connecting to the Genesee Valley Greenway in Cuba.
For those interested in learning more about the EVGV Trail developments, check out its website at www.evgvtrail.org. Mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Trailsquatch 5K Fun Run at HoliMont, benefiting the EVGV Trail. As it will be held on May 4th, this year’s theme is “May the 4th Be With You.” For event details and registration, visit https://www.runreg.com/maythe4thbewithyou.
To learn more about the economic and health benefits of trail towns and future expansion plans for Western New York’s trail network, Parks & Trails New York will host a Western New York Greenways Planning Summit at Buffalo State University on Friday, March 28th from 9:30am-4:30pm. For event details and registration, visit https://www.ptny.org/events/wny-greenways-planning-summit.