Connecting Troy’s Trails

The City of Troy has an award-winning complete streets policy that lays the groundwork for improving the bikeability and walkability across the city. Parks & Trails New York is working with the City of Troy, the Capital District Transportation Committee, and local cycling advocacy group, Transport Troy, create a planning document that will connect the 3-mile long Uncle Sam Bikeway and the proposed South Troy Riverfront Bikeway to schools, colleges and universities, parks, and Downtown Troy.

Troy is in many ways similar to post-industrial cities across the country, where booming downtowns are bringing an influx of residents and visitors to dense, walkable urban cores, despite a persistent level of poverty and disinvestment plaguing older adjacent neighborhoods. Local groups, such as Transport Troy, Troy Bike Rescue, and Capital Roots have been advocating for investments in bicycling and walking as a way to improve residents’ mobility and health and attract new businesses and residents. An existing multi-use trail, the Uncle Sam Trail, runs between two of Troy’s northernmost neighborhoods, passing several schools, parks, and large affordable housing developments. In 2014, the City of Troy passed a Complete Streets policy that could ensure future road construction projects considered the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users. That same year, the City’s policy was ranked as the nation’s second-best Complete Streets policy.

Parks & Trails New York’s Troy Trail Connections Plan will establish a template for city officials to use to grow the network of infrastructure and amenities that make bicycling safe, enjoyable, and efficient. PTNY staff spent a considerable amount of time in June inventorying existing conditions and meeting with community groups that have been working on improving Troy’s bikeability for several years. The plan is currently soliciting public feedback to focus on defining bicycle connections between parks, schools, Downtown Troy and other business districts, and existing and future multi-use trails.

The final document will provide city transportation officials with the guidance necessary to make bicycle friendly improvements such as wayfinding signage, bike lanes, and bike racks outside local businesses, schools, and parks when they repave or reconstruct city streets. PTNY’s recommendations will take cues from the progressive National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)’s guidelines, which have been successfully implemented in New York City and other cities ranging in size from Chicago to Burlington, Vermont.

If you currently bicycle or are interested in bicycling in Troy, please share your ideas to help shape the future of bicycling in the Collar City. Tell us what barriers you face to safe, enjoyable, and efficient bicycling and let us know where you like to see improvements such as bike lanes, signage, and bike racks installed throughout the City. Visit our project website to fill out a brief survey and stay tuned for upcoming meetings and pop-up demonstrations you can participate in to give us feedback.