To the Editor:
Thanks to visionary Supervisor, Mike Hein, Ulster County has become a leader in the State of New York. We’ve seen notable achievements in four areas that affect the quality of our lives: environment, infrastructure, social responsibility and fiscal responsibility.
Another aspect of his vision may come to count for more than any of the above. The idea of a rail-trail, connecting Ulster county within itself -- and beyond itself to Dutchess, Sullivan, and other counties -- offers attractive benefits. Many of us will drive less; many will be healthier thanks to readily available exercise; children can ride their bikes safely; companies are more likely to relocate to an area enhanced by rail-trails.
If life seems to be ever-faster paced, and technology seems to require that we spend more and more of our time in a cyber-world, what does the future hold? If it’s an intensification of the same, think what an impact Mike Hein’s rail-trail vision will have when realized -- the open skies above and the fresh air, the chance to wander in nature at our own pace, the means to explore quiet corners of our beautiful terrain. The list could be endless.
A fully realized rail-trail will transform normal, daily life for us and for our descendants beyond what we can imagine at present.
The Rev’d Susan Auchincloss
Priest Associate, Trinity Episcopal Church, Saugerties
Home and office, Woodstock
