Albany

County HelderbergHudson RailTrail

Figure69.AlbanyCountyHelderbergHudsonRailTrailUsersbyZipCode
The Albany County HelderbergHudson RailTrail (ACHHRT) is the newest
Capital Region multiuse trail. It is a 9 mile former Delaware and Hudson
(D&H) rail corridor between the Port of Albany and Voorheesville. The
Regional Trail Perspectives focused on the paved portion of the trail from
thePortofAlbanytoSlingerlands.

Volunteerscollected135surveysattwolocationsalongthetrailand47trail
usersindicatedusingtheACHHRTontheonlinesurvey.Ofthe71surveys
mailed to adjacent residential landowners, 20 were returned. The trail
attracted users from41 different area codes with the highest number of
usersfromDelmar,Slingerlands,Voorheesville,andAlbany.

TheACHHRTbeginsintheCityofAlbanynearthePortandPortrelatedland
uses which would be characterized as industrial. It then runs through an
isolated,woodedareauntilitentersthesuburbancommunityofDelmarin
the Town of Bethlehem. Through Bethlehem it runs adjacent to both
residential and retail development. When the trail is completed it will
connect to the rural Town of New Scotland and Village of Voorheesville,
runningadjacenttoopenspaceandfarmland.

Basedontrailcountscollectedalongthetrail,theHudsonAvenuetrailhead
hadthe4thhighestvolumeofall22locationssurveyedduringtheSummer
2016.Therewereslightlymoremalesthanfemalescountedonthetrailand
that responded to surveys. Both counts and surveys show more bicyclists
thanothermodesonthetrail.
Trail User Survey Summary
Gender Abouthowmanytimeshaveyouusedthetrailduringthepast
Male 94 54.34% twelvemonths?
Female 77 44.51% Lessthan5days 25 14.45%
Skipped 2 1.16% 510days 34 19.65%
Age 1124days 34 19.65%
Under16 8 4.62% 2549days 41 23.70%
1624 20 11.56% 50100days 25 14.45%
2544 40 23.12% Morethan100days 14 8.09%
4564 73 42.20% Noanswer 0 0.00%
65orover 32 18.50% Aretheresectionsofthetrailthatyouavoidduetopoortrail
Skipped 0 0.00% conditionsorgeneralconcernsabouttrailmaintenance?
Howdidyougettothetrailtoday? Yes 28 16.18%
Drove 47 27.17% No 135 78.03%
Bicycle 67 38.73% Noanswer 10 5.78%
Walk/Run 51 29.48%
Isyourvisittothistrailpartofanovernighttripawayfrom
Other 5 2.89%
home?
Skipped 3 1.73%
Whatactivitydidyouengageinwhileonthetrailtoday? Yes 4 2.31%
No 163 94.22%
Walking 66 38.15%
Noanswer 6 3.47%
Running/Jogging 13 7.51%
Bicycling 100 57.80% Howwouldyourateyourcurrenthealthstatus
InlineSkating 2 1.16% Excellent 63 36.42%
Other 4 2.31% VeryGood 79 45.66%
Whatisyourprimarypurposeforusingthistrail? Good 28 16.18%
Recreation 66 38.15% Fair 1 0.58%
Health/Exercise 133 76.88% Poor 0 0.00%
Commutetoschool/work 14 8.09% Noanswer 2 1.16%
Other 14 8.09%
 Figure70.Onascaleof15,towhatextentdoyoufeelthefollowingitemsareproblemsontheAlbanyCountyHelderbergHudsonRailTrail?

1 2 3 4 5
Majorproblem Noopinion Notaproblem

parkingand/oraccess
Lackofservices(restrooms,etc.)
Personalsafety(crime)
Directionalsignage
Dangerousroadintersections
Litter,glass&debris
Petsoffleashes/animalwaste
Trailwidth
Trailsurfaceconditions
Behavioroftrailusers
Conflictswithothertrailactivities
Toocrowded

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Adjacent Residential Survey Summary
Whichofthefollowingmostaccuratelydescribeshowyouuse
Whatistheapproximatecurrentvalueofyourproperty?
yourpropertyneartheTrail?
Lessthan$99,999 0 0.0%
Itismyprimaryresidence 20 100.0% $100,000199,999 5 25.0%
Irenttoatenant,anddo $200,000299,999 7 35.0%
notoccupytheresidence 0 0.0% $300,000399,999 6 30.0%
Itismysecondhome 0 0.0% $400,000$499,999 0 0.0%
Itisunoccupied 0 0.0% $500,000ormore 0 0.0%
Other 0 0.0% Noanswer 2 10.0%
Whereisthetrailinrelationtoyourpropertyline? Howwouldyoudescribethesettingofyourhousenearthe
trail?
Thetrailrunsthroughmy
property 0 0.0% Urban 1 5.0%
Suburban 18 90.0%
thetrailrunsalongtheedge
Rural 0 0.0%
ofmyproperty 15 75.0%
Noanswer 1 5.0%
Thetrailisnearmyproperty
Whendidyouacquireyourhouse?
butnottouchingit 5 25.0%
Afterthetrailwasbuilt 3 15.0%
Don'tknow 0 0.0%
BeforetheTrailwasbuilt 17 85.0%
Approximatelyhowfar(infeet)istherailtrailfromyourhouse?
Lessthan100ft. 10 50.0% Compareyourinitialreactiontotheideaoflivingnearthetrail
100ft.to199ft. 8 40.0% tohowyoufeelaboutlivingnearthetrailtoday.Wouldyousay
thatlivingnearthetrailisbetterorworsethanyouexpectedit
200ft.to499ft. 1 5.0%
tobe?
500ft.ormore 0 0.0%
Noanswer 1 5.0% Muchbetter 3 15.0%
Approximatelyhowlargeisyourproperty? Better 6 30.0%
Lessthan1/2acre 11 55.0% Same 6 30.0%
Between1/2and1acre 8 40.0% Worse 2 10.0%
Between1and3acres 0 0.0% Muchworse 2 10.0%
3acresormore 1 5.0% Noanswer 1 5.0%
Doyoufeelthetrailposesarisktoyourownoryourfamily's
safetyduetotheactivitiesoftrailusers?
Yes 3 15.0% Howdoyoufeelthetrailhasaffectedthequalityofyour
No 13 65.0% neighborhood?
Noopinion 2 10.0% Highlyimproved 3 15.0%
Noanswer 2 10.0% Improved 9 45.0%
Ifyouweretotryandsellyourproperty,doyouthinkbeing Noimpact 3 15.0%
nearthetrailwillmakeitharderoreasiertosell? Worsened 4 20.0%
Mucheasier 1 5.0% Completelydeteriorated 0 0.0%
Easier 5 25.0% Noanswer 1 5.0%
Same 9 45.0% Doyoufeelyourproximitytothetrailhasimprovedyour
Harder 4 20.0% physicalactivitylevels?
Muchharder 1 5.0% Yes 11 55.0%
Howdoyouthinkbeinglocatednearthetrailhasaffectedthe No 6 30.0%
resalevalueofthisproperty? Notsure 2 10.0%
Loweredtheresalevalue 2 10.0% Noanswer 1 5.0%
Increasedtheresalevalue 3 15.0% Doyoufeelthatthedevelopmentandmanagementoftrailisa
Noeffectontheresale gooduseofpublicfunds?
value 7 35.0% Yes 13 65.0%
Noopinion 7 35.0% No 3 15.0%
Noanswer 1 5.0% Noopinion 3 15.0%
Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithhavingthetrailasa Noanswer 1 5.0%
neighbor?
Howoftendothemembersofyourhouseholdusethetrail?
Verysatisfied 7 35.0%
Daily 6 30.0%
Satisfied 5 25.0%
Frequently 5 25.0%
Indifferent 4 20.0%
Occasionally 4 20.0%
Unsatisfied 2 10.0%
Rarely 3 15.0%
Veryunsatisfied 2 10.0%
Never 2 10.0%
Figure71.Towhatextentdoyoufeelthefollowingitemsareproblemsforyourhouseholdasaresultofthetrailanditsusers?

1(Notaproblem) 2 3(Noopinion) 4 5(Majorproblem)

Disruptivenoisefromthetrail
Burglaryofmyproperty
Discourteous,rudeusers
Unleashedandroamingpets
Petwasteon/nearmyproperty
Carsparkingon/nearmy
Vandalismofmyproperty
Usersharassmypets
Trespassingontomyproperty
Loiteringon/nearmyproperty
Litteron/nearmyproperty
Illegalmotorvehicleuse
0 5 10 15 20 25

Figure72.Towhatextentdoyoufeelthatthetrailisimportantinprovidingthefollowingbenefitstothesurroundingcommunity?

1(Notimportant 2 3(Noopinion) 4 5(Veryimportant)

Locaionforspecialevents

Transportationalternatives

Environmentaleducationopportunities

Openspaceconservation

Waterfrontaccess/revitalization

Toursim&relatedeconomicbenefits

Safeopportunitisforhealthandfitness

Safeopportunitiesforpublicrecreation

0 5 10 15 20 25