February, 2022 - Nomination awarded by FIT Honors Faculty to present a senior thesis paper at the annual Presidential Scholars Research Fair. As a nominated speaker, I hosted a presentation and Q&A discussing "Evaluation of Trail Networks Developed to Best Benefit Their Local Communities.”
ABSTRACT
Many organizations see the potential benefits for communities’ economies, environments, and health. However, not all trail organizers know the proper steps to develop a trail that can satisfy every need of trail users. An abandoned railway and financial assistance are not enough to properly design, fabricate, implement, promote and manage a community space. Trails should feel like a destination, and that characteristic is achieved through thoughtful placemaking and wayfinding that addresses the needs of all types of trail users. Determined through rounds of literature reviews, surveying, and interviewing, this thesis discusses how trail networks can best be developed to benefit their communities through innovating standard placemaking practices.
INTRODUCTION
In October 2009, I played Louise Holmes Anthony Vanderbilt, socialite, and philanthropist of Hyde Park, NY, in the brand new Poughkeepsie Elementary School fourth grade play. This Poughkeepsie-centric historical play was written by my very own fourth-grade teacher in celebration of our community. Our class was the only class performing a historical play that year. In fact, the fourth grade never put on a play until my teacher insisted that our class had to perform this specific content in the fall of 2009. As a traumatized but ultimately enlightened child – for having to wear a dress but also learning a lot from the experience – I questioned why put on this play at this very moment, while I had the misfortune of being in the fourth grade. The answer, I now realize, has impacted a very large portion of my life: The Dutchess Rail Trail.
The Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park opened the same fall that I entered the fourth grade. I remember how excited my school district and community members were during the grand opening of this pedestrian bridge. My classmates' parents had been donors, my neighbors' families were visiting for the event, and my fourth-grade teacher saw the Walkway as an opportunity to teach us how historically significant our home is. The opening of the Walkway Over the Hudson and the Dutchess Rail Trail has trickled into every aspect of my life.
After that fourth grade play, my Girl Scout troop took field trips to the Walkway. My brother’s Boy Scout troop incorporated the Walkway into their troop emblem. When working at a summer camp, I took campers biking on the trail every afternoon. When our country faced significant hurdles in 2016, I took part in the March for Science along the Walkway and down the streets of Poughkeepsie. Now, 83 miles away, pursuing a bachelor's degree at FIT, I have interned for an organization to survey trails and interview designers, knowing that I would be able to return to the Walkway for work. I can ride Metro-North to Poughkeepsie Station and bike the rail trail directly to where my brother works, at Gold’s Gym.
I see the impact the trail has on my community from so many perspectives. The Dutchess Rail Trail snakes through many different spaces, connecting neighborhoods, towns, and counties. As part of the Empire State Trail, the Dutchess Rail Trail connects us to New York City, Albany, and Niagara Falls. Community members have used the Walkway and the rail trail as a shared space for many different purposes, and select members have created a nonprofit group that promotes community initiatives through the trail. Rail trails provide a third space, the space besides home and work, allowing communities to thrive.
I have experienced, first hand, how a community can be impacted by rail trails. There are many rail trails that have been proposed or are in development, and there are many opportunities around the country to create more. However, not all rail trail organizers have the experience, the knowledge, or the help to create spaces to best benefit trail users and the community. This study examines why trails like the Empire State trail could be successful and how to innovate those practices to further improve. Through historical analysis, literature review, on-site surveying, industry interviews, and a design project proposal, I will discuss my findings as I ask the many members involved in rail trail development and usage how trail networks can best be developed to benefit the communities that they run through.
To read more, please view my full thesis paper, here: