Genesee Valley Greenway

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The Genesee Valley Greenway is a rails-to-trails-like conversion of nearly 90 miles (140 kilometers) of old Pennsylvania Railroad track bed and Genesee Valley Canal land.

The Greenway project began in 1991 as a way to reuse mostly abandoned land from the old railways. Construction and renovation of land for the trail was underway in 1998.

The Greenway is administred by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preseration

[edit] Trail Conditions

Because the northerm portions of the Greenway are converted railroad track bed, it is relatively smooth, straight, and level. Portions of the trail near to, and south of, Letchworth State Park are very hilly and strenuous.

Where the trail crosses highways and waterways, many of the structures used to support the previous railway are either reused, or new prefabricated bridges have been placed on old bridge abutments.

Roads that cross the Greenway fall in two general categories:

Roads constructed while the railway or Greenway was in operation

These intersections typically have the road on an even grade with the Greenway or (for larger highways) a bridge where one crosses the other

Greenway patrons simply need to avoid cars in crossing the road (if no bridge is present)

Roads constructed while the railway was abandoned

These intersections may be quite awkward to cross because of differences in elevation between the roadway and the Greenway

The Greenway may have steep inclines or switchbacks to quickly change elevation to match the roadway

[edit] Places of Historic Interest

Intersection of the Greenway with the Lehigh Valley Trail. The site is marked by the (white) plaque seen on the right.

Because of the historic nature of much of the land that the Greenway traverses, points of interest along the trail are marked by plaques with descriptions of the signifigance of the site, along with historic photographs and maps.

Among the marked sites are:

• Abandoned Genesee Valley Canal locks
• Old railway bridges and bridge abutments
• Sites important to the Pennsylvania Railroad that previously occupied the land

[edit] External links

• Friends of Genesee Valley Greenway website contains information about the Greenway and maps of it.
• Rails-to-Trails Conservency's page on the Genesee Valley Greenway

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