An Update on the EVGV Trail
An Update on the EVGV Trail
Committee Continues to Fundraise for the Rec. Trail; Mark Your Calendar for Nov. 19th
Ellicottville, NY is a four-season destination of recreational fun, so now what could be missing? Well for years now, a trail system has been in the works to develop a multi-use system connecting the Great Valley and Ellicottville area - The EVGV Trail.
The EVGV Trail, which stands for Ellicottville/Great Valley, has planned for a 17-mile paved trail to better serve the public with access to safe and accessible pathways. The mission of the organization is simple: they hope to encourage activity while providing the means to a walkable trail. One that can be widely used by all ages for various activities.
The areas settled in the Enchanted Mountains of Cattaraugus County have so much to offer year-round. So, picture a trail that can cater to each season, winding through the hills and surrounded by nature’s beauty. Biking through the fall foliage, snow shoeing on a winter day, or a long stroll with friends in the spring and summer are just a few to be mentioned. The opportunities remain endless and bring a free resource to be enjoyed.
The current plans of the EVGV Trail are promising, but it’s important to note how much time is needed for the design and alignment, and of course funding, to go into such a significant project. The organization has been supported by the Village and Town of Ellicottville in all their planning efforts and will only have to seek out the State and County when plans start to expand out of the village. When evaluating the project as a whole, there’s a mile pathed out through the village and the park that the committee saw the opportunity to prioritize, the first phase of the trail.
This first phase of the EVGV Trail is coming together with a lot of excitement. The organization knew that it would be in the best interests of all to start off with a community driven section of the trailway. The plan is for roughly a mile long section of the trail beginning on Elizabeth Street that will connect the village, the park, arboretum and Town Center.
EVGV Trail President, Scott Johnson, and fellow committee member, Kristen Sciara, commented on how this first phase is going to really stand out for the community. Kristen Sciara stated that this section of trail “directly affects the recreation of the people who live in our community and so while we’re looking at this larger project, we wanted to segment now this part of the trail and start funding so that we can get that done essentially first.” While Scott Johnson went on to discuss why this has become his most anticipated part of the trail, “I’d say the section from Elizabeth Street, through the park and arboretum, and out to Route 219 will be fantastic. It will hopefully show the public the potential and get people excited about continuing the trail outside the village and town.” Both agree that this phase is going to have such a positive impact and hopefully get the larger conversation started among the community on what’s to come.
This community marker of the trail will potentially begin in 2024 with the goal of completion sometime in 2025 using direct funding from the organization.
In terms of the bigger picture, President Scott Johnson went on to explain the challenges the EVGV Trail faces by funding and planning, “The Southern Tier Trail was funded to do the design and alignment of 52 miles to Springville, Ellicottville, Great Valley, Salamanca and over to Olean, so that 52 mile trail lays on top of the 17 miles of the Ellicottville/Great Valley Trail, that we were hoping to build. So eventually we anticipate the Southern Tier Trail being fully funded hopefully by the state.”
The problem with this is the difference in trail structure, and of course, time. The EVGV Trail has committed to wanting to provide paved pathways for more accessibility, whereas the Southern Tier Trail is projected to use a stone dust trail. The EVGV Trail committee decided that while this is a great help in the initial clearing and formations of pathways, they still want to continue their individual efforts to keep control of time and current proposals in place.
With present and future construction plans in the works, the committee has been working with local JD Northrup Construction and have really commended them on how great they’ve been to work with. They’ve donated in-kind serves and the EVGV Trail plans to work with them moving forward in the project.
Future plans have been discussed and will align to the original mapping of the trail. These, for now, are a more distant objective. Day by day the EVGV committee works for progress and hopes that this trail will lead to endless opportunities for the area. This becomes a base line for distant, larger scaled connections to surrounding trails in New York State.
The importance of the EVGV Trail has been discussed locally and it’s hoped to continue the conversation and spread the word. An active addition to the area, the trail also plans to solve some safety issues currently faced. As presented in a video on the EVGV Trail website, the walkability in some of the areas is alarming. School students on their way to Ellicottville Central School walk along Route 219 with 45 mile-per-hour cars passing by. The route lacks a sidewalk, making it a dangerous situation for students or anyone walking the area. The video lays out where the EVGV Trail would come in and develop for a safe and accessible pathway, wide enough for walking, biking, wheelchair access, and strollers.
The committee hopes to educate the area, community members and tourists alike, on the extensive benefits the EVGV Trail will allow. They have and continue to host fundraising efforts, along with informational stands with maps and material to pass along. Just recently during Rock n’ Roll weekend, they hosted a successful hot dog fundraiser. HoliMont member, John Weber of Smith’s Provisions, very generously donated the hot dogs which allowed the committee to focus additional funds for printable, informative material. Kristen Sciara explained how extremely helpful this was and “even larger was our exposure to the community”.
Coming up to help achieve some additional fundraising, the organization has some plans in motion. On November 19th, the EVGV Trail will be hosted by Villaggio in the village. Loud Underground has kindly donated a Kona road bike that will be raffled off at the event. The drawing is anticipated to happen during the Buffalo Bills game and flyers will soon be released for follow-up information. You can also follow along on their social media pages and website, evgvtrail.org for current updates.
The committee encourages any and all involvement from the community and visitors alike that may want to offer their support. Donations can be made online at cattfoundation.org (search Ellicottville Great Valley Recreational Trail Fund) and there’s also an email portal for anyone looking to reach out for volunteer work.
Help support the EVGV Trail, one step at a time.