NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) awarded $6,000 to the Town of Delaware for its recent completion of a river-adjacent Recreational Access Study under its Fiscal Year 2021 Technical Assistance Grants program.
The Delaware Town Board engaged Shepstone Management Company to study the feasibility of linking to a prospective trail that was identified in a 2020 Town of Hancock study. That walking trail would start in Hancock and go to Long Eddy in the Town of Fremont.
Working with sub-consultant Woodland Design Associates, also based in Honesdale, PA, Shepstone Management Co. documented land ownership, identified route options, produced maps, collected cost estimates, analyzed permitting requirements, and noted the steps necessary for the Town of Delaware to move forward with trail implementation.
The study area started at the Cochecton/Delaware town line and proceeded along the New York State Route 97 Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, largely paralleling the nationally-designated Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, to the Long Eddy River Access near the Sullivan/Delaware County line.
The analyses conducted indicate that there is excellent trail potential along the entire route, with significant possible routes and river accesses already in place. The plan would, however, require securing private landowner permissions and improving existing river access to become practical trailhead locations.
A phased approach is recommended by the study, starting with designations of certain low-traffic public roads as formal routes with accompanying maps and signage to promote trail use.
