River Walk Sensory Trail

Work has begun on the Riverwalk Trail and Kayak Launch at Hudson Crossing Park. Shale surfacing materials have arrived on site for the improved Riverwalk Sensory Trail and Kayak Launch area. The Cleveland Brothers Landscaping, Inc., was awarded the bid for the project to improve the trail experience and make it a handicap-accessible, trail and kayak launch by summer's end.

These projects were initially let out with a combined project bid by the Town of Northumberland in February 2012 but came in over the amount budgeted by the Town. The projects were re-evaluated and

modified with acceptable design changes that reduced the overall cost of each. A re-bid for both projects, allowing potential contractors to bid on one or both of the projects was publicly advertised on May 18th with the bid openings on June 5th. The successful contractor, Cleveland Brothers Landscaping, Inc., is required to begin the projects by early July, 2012 and complete them by November, 2012.

The Riverwalk Trail will be a 1400' stone dust path from the Dix Bridge along the shore of the Hudson River and continuing to the new Alfred Z Solomon Canoe/Kayak Launch which will be located just

south of the Lock 5 Canal Office. Both of these projects are being funded using $160,000 from the NYS Department of State's Waterfront Revitalization Program Grants utilizing NYS Environmental Protection Funds, awarded to the Town of Northumberland, and a $20,000 grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Trust, awarded to Hudson Crossing Park, Inc. An additional grant of $1,000, made by the Schuylerville Lions Club, means that the projects will require minimal input of local to dollars to complete while adding quality trail and launch additions along a very picturesque portion of the Hudson River within Hudson Crossing Park.

Along the trail will be two river overlook decks and at these

picturesque sites will be placed an eco-friendly Tour-Mate device with which visitors will be able to hear short stories about the surrounding area. The Tour-Mate Eco Boxes run using a listener-operated handcrank. While the crank is turned, the listener presses one of four buttons, selecting stories relating to the four lives of the Lakes to Locks Passage. The four lives include Natural Forces & Native Peoples; Conflict & Settlement; Corridor of Commerce; and Magnet for Tourism. These two audio units were funded by a $5,000 grant from the Hudson River Improvement Fund of the Hudson River Foundation.

Sixteen scripts were written for the Tour-Mate Eco Boxes. Hudson Crossing Park held a contest to discover "the voices" for the recordings.