Blog 2 of 4 about the Empire State Trail
By: Bill Sprengnether, Senior Design Associate, Alta Planning + Design
The Empire State Trail (EST) will be the longest multi-use trail in the US. We caught up with Alta Senior Design Associate, Bill Sprengnether, to see how this first-of-its-kind project is being designed.
Q: What’s your main focus with the trailhead designs? What were findings from talking with the communities?
Bill Sprengnether: The purpose of the trailheads is to provide trail users a designated place to begin their Empire State Trail adventure or as a resting spot for individuals already on the trail. The trailheads were designed to be clear, consistent, and legible to users — spaces that are open, safe and welcoming. Most importantly to the host communities, the trailheads are designed to be durable. Robust materials are used and a minimal amount of planting is offered in order to limit maintenance.
Most communities have been excited to host trailheads. Each municipality is being asked to sign a letter of understanding, with which they accept maintenance of the trailhead.
Q: The project encompasses such a huge area. How do you make it all fit together to satisfy the needs of so many different communities?
Bill Sprengnether: Honestly, the needs of the trail-users are the primary focus. A common set of design elements is used on each trailhead so they all have a similar look and feel. Most of the trailheads are located on state-owned land that in many cases is used and maintained by local municipalities as open space or parkland. The most common request from the host communities is that the trailheads are very low maintenance. In a few cases where long-term, day-use parking is not currently available, the trailheads lean more toward the rest-stop use, located and designed to offer trail users a place to park their bike, rest, and wander into a village to get refreshments.
Q: What are you most excited about? What are the next steps?
Bill Sprengnether: I am super excited to see the EST come together. At this point, most of the initial planning and design work is complete and projects are being bid and going into construction. We should start seeing trailheads built this summer with a number of them complete for the sunny and crisp days of autumn!
Stay tuned for more about this project in the coming weeks! In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter for updates!
Read the third blog in this series here.
