Town board move to explore ‘Lansing Greenway’ multi-use trail project

The town of Lansing and its 2024 Parks, Recreation, and Trails Working Group are setting in motion the creation of a multi-use trail dubbed the Lansing Greenway. The project, town officials say, will connect some of the staples of family life in the town, as well as encourage residents to enjoy the town’s scenic nature views.

The trail would be located away from major roadways in the town to encourage residents of all ages to safely navigate largely rural Lansing. The “greenway” would also encourage residents to bike and walk along the trail on their way to landmarks like the town’s center, the Lansing Central School District campus, and Myers Park and Salt Point.

Steve Lauzun, the working group’s chair, presented plans for the potential Greenway trail at the town board’s June 26 meeting, said the trail could strengthen the town’s commitment to being a family friendly place. 

“They just have a lot of benefits,” Lauzun said of the Greenway. “They promote physical activity, they get people moving, getting out of their cars. They are a much safer way to move around, especially on bikes.”

Outside of the town’s main landmarks, the currently proposed plan would also eventually connect to The Rink on East Shore Road and the Edwards Lake Cliffs Preserve, eventually connecting with the village of Lansing and the YMCA on Graham Road. 

The trail would have 10-foot-wide lanes paved with asphalt or stone dust and would serve any non-motorized method of transportation, as well as a mulch shoulder. Lauzun referenced the main multi-use in the city of Geneva as a potential example of what the Greenway could look like. 

Lauzun said a  multi-use trail has been a much-requested feature by town residents in several parks and recreation surveys dating back to 2000.

“A trail would help children. It is much safer than biking on the road,” he noted. “It gets people out to appreciate our beautiful town and it can be one of our main ways to stay connected.”

The trail would be built on public and private land, Lauzun said. It would include road crossings, but those would be cleared with state, county, and town authorities for safety purposes.

“To get from public land to public land, we will be seeking landowners who will be willing to give up a 20-foot-wide strip to create easements for the trails to pass through,” he added.

To fund the project, members of the Parks, Recreation, and Trails Working Group will be seeking grants. Lauzun noted that a multi-use trail would require federal funding. Said funding typically hinges on the inclusion of accessibility features outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

The group is set to start putting together a funding plan in the coming months, but Lauzun noted the use of town funds is highly likely.

“Whether it is for legal fees, in-kind services, that will inevitably happen,” Lauzun said.

Despite that, he noted the group will go after “as many grants as they can.”

After the presentation of the plans, the town board unanimously approved a resolution to allow the group to apply for a zero-match feasibility study grant through the Tompkins County Tourism Council. That study will help improve the plan based on feedback, Lauzun said. 

Phase one of the trail would run from the town barn fields on Auburn Road to Conlon Road. 

“We’d like to get after fairly quickly if we can. It has to be aligned with the town’s comprehensive plan and recreation master plan,” Lauzun said.

The town would need three easements on private roads to allow the trail to run. So far, Lauzun said it has secured two of them. As part of phase one the group would also create an informational brochure and video with drone footage of the trail’s first phase.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief

The town of Lansing Community Library will take part in the #FLXLibraryRoadTrip. From July 1 to Aug. 31, individuals can take a journey through all 33 libraries in the Finger Lakes region and receive rewards like tote bags, magnets, and stickers after reaching a certain number of libraries visited. Residents can visit this site for more information: https://www.flls.org/road-trip/