Letter to the Editor: Thank you Kingston Land Trust!

To the Editor:

With all of the bad news in the world, it is uplifting when something positive happens in our midst. I had the pleasure of attending the recent Kingston Greenline Summit and it was exciting and energizing. The Greenline combines the Kingston Point Rail Trail project with other trail projects and street improvements to make walking and cycling all over the city welcoming, safe and accessible. Cities all over the country are experiencing reduction in crime, improvement in quality of life and renewed interest in real estate along city trails. Thanks to the efforts of the Kingston Land Trust, Kingston's trail projects and “complete street” plans are well beyond the dream stage.

It can be hard to appreciate how special something is when it is close to home. At Kingston's Summit, representatives from New York Parks and Trails, The National Park Service, Hudson River Valley Greenway, The Open Space Institute, as well as the Mayor and every regional rail trail organization were there in support of Kingston's plan. That was impressive. The future they recognized was the Kingston Greenline as the vital urban hub connecting trails in the region, from the Walkway Over the Hudson to the O & W and Wallkill Valley rail trails and out to the Ashokan Reservoir and Bellayre Mountain along the proposed Catskill Mountain Rail Trail-- people outside, biking and walking to school and work, getting healthier and enjoying the incredible historic and natural assets of where we live. Thank you Kingston Land Trust!

Susan Goldman
Woodstock, NY