The Urban Trail Construction Brings up Safety Concerns for the Area
There are mixed feelings regarding the new Urban Trail being put in that would run along and through some parts of the Marist College campus, and while some people are excited to have a new walking trail being put in, there is an increase in safety concerns due to the recent acts of gun violence in the area. On October 4th, there was the tragic shooting death of a Marist student’s father in the lobby of the Poughkeepsie Marriot. There has additionally been an overall spike in the area’s crime rate and crimes related to gun violence. The recent uptick in violent crime in the area begs the question of whether or not the trail should run so closely and openly to a college campus.
Construction on the Urban Trail was set to begin in Spring 2022 with an estimated completion of the conversion of the CSX rail corridor into a trail by the summer of 2023. The first phase of the trail is to run starting at the Rail Trail near Schatz Bearing building by Clark St. and running roughly a mile and a half towards the Hudson Heritage Area. This first phase of the trail is planned to run past the Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital, cutting through the Marist campus under the bridge which connects the Allied Health building and the Fulton, Upper, and Lower West resident buildings.
The trail is also planned to run near two other elementary schools in the local Poughkeepsie Area, being Morse Elementary and Warring Elementary. When asked about her opinion on the trail, New Paltz senior Eileen Wishinski stated “I personally don’t think the trail should run so close to schools because that is inviting a lot of unknown outsiders in…which could be a huge security issue.” She followed that comment up by saying that “the area is known for violence and it’s very unpredictable what could happen, especially with the times that we are in.”
Not everyone felt negative about the trail, with Vassar sophomore Sophie Mode saying that “it’s a good idea to have the trail due to how depression rates have skyrocketed due to Covid and it’s important to get outside, exercise and be a part of nature.” Poughkeepsie local James Lions felt similarly by stating that it is important to have areas like the trail in the near area for personal health reasons.
The purpose of the trail is to give the Dutchess county area somewhere where the public can easily access nature for a wide range of activities. The intention is that the trail will become a hybrid of a greenway and a transportation facility. The trail will have two other phases of construction, with the second phase to run alongside Route 9, estimated to be complete by the end of 2023, and the third phase to run in between the Justice Center and the Standard Gage, estimated to be finished by the end of 2024.
The Urban Trail undeniably brings both potentials for positive and negative change to the area. The areas near where the trail runs where security is a concern must ensure that there are precautionary measures taken to keep everyone in the area safe. Places, where the general public should not have unlimited access, should be blocked off with fences, and security cameras should be installed throughout the trail to dissuade unwanted or dangerous activity from occurring.
