Old Forge will be one of four locations where the New York State Department of Environ-mental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) will hold public meetings in the next few weeks regarding the management of the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor, a 119-mile rail line in the western Adirondack Mountains.
Information and comments gathered from the public and stakeholder groups will help the commissioners of the two state agencies determine whether to amend the Remsen-Lake Placid Corridor Unit Management Plan.
The plan, adopted by DEC and NYSDOT in March 1996, assesses the natural and physical resources along the 100-foot-wide corridor and identifies opportunities for public use.
It guides how the corridor is used and managed.
The meeting in Old Forge will be held Monday, September 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Town of Webb Park Avenue Building at 183 Park Ave.
DEC Region 5 Headquarters in Ray Brook will be the site of the next meeting on Tuesday, September 10 from 1 to 4 p.m.
On Monday, September 16, public comments will be heard at the State Office Building at 207 Genesee Street in Utica from 1 to 4 p.m. and on Tuesday, September 17, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Wild Center, 45 Museum Drive in Tupper Lake.
The sessions will include a presentation by the state agencies and informational stations where the public can give state agency staff their comments and ideas verbally or in writing.
Written comments also may be submitted by September 25 to NYSTravelCorridor@dot.ny.gov, faxed to (518) 457-3183, or mailed to Raymond F. Hessinger, Director, Freight & Passenger Rail Bureau, NYS Department of Transportation, 50 Wolf Road, POD 54, Albany, NY 12232.
The state acquired the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor in 1975 from the bankrupt Penn Central Railroad.
The rail line was constructed in 1892 and was operated by New York Central Railroad and, later, Penn Central Railroad until freight service ended in 1972.
NYSDOT manages the line in keeping with a Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan developed in conjunction with DEC.
Approximately 100 miles of the corridor is located within the Adirondack Park.
An additional 19 miles is located outside of the Park in the Tug Hill Region.
