KINGSTON – The City of Kingston was recently awarded $520,000 to be allocated toward its portion of the Empire State Trail for sidewalk installation along Route 32 from Rockwell Lane to the bridge over Broadway.
Tuesday evening, the common council passed a resolution to bond $650,000 for the construction of the sidewalks, the remainder of which would be matched by the city.
The city and Ulster County Transportation Council agreed sidewalks were necessary as part of their portion of the approximately 750-mile, statewide, trail project and petitioned the inclusion of them to the state Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the project.
This addition was not part of the original plan, and the city has sent new draft submissions as well as commitment for the additional funds to provide for the sidewalk construction, to the state DOT.
The federal grant is one of a number of grant acquisitions the city has been responsible for, as of late, including another federal grant for $734,000 through the Ulster County Transportation Council Transportation Improvement Program.
A resolution was also passed Tuesday evening to bond $1.2 million for the Hurley Avenue Paving and Complete Streets project, $676,000 of which would be covered through the federal funding. The project has passed the design phase and is expected to go to bid this fall.
The state DOT will be holding a public hearing near the end of June to inform the public of the design for Kingston’s portion of the Empire State Trail. The trail is expected to be finished statewide by 2020.
