Auburn Trail and Extension

Project Story

Fisher Associates transformed an overgrown, seldom-used trail into a valuable community centerpiece that attracts people to area businesses and links the area’s historic sites. The first phase of the project was a new 10-mile long trail that showcases the Town of Victor’s history and pride. The multi-use surface accommodates pedestrians, bicycles, and is handicap accessible. Safety along the trail and at road crossings was improved. This community-valued trail also features informational and interpretive signage, amenities (picnic tables, benches, drinking fountains, trash receptacles), and landscaping.

To build project momentum and enthusiasm, our public outreach program included a public information open house where people could indicate which amenities and ideas they liked. A newsletter was mailed to 5,000 local residents and area businesses. We created a project website to allow people to access project information at their own convenience. An e-mail link from the site to Fisher Associates’ Project Manager fostered two-way communication. The site was linked to the Victor Hiking Trail, the local hiking group, to increase awareness of and membership in this group.

The village was so satisfied with our service that they awarded us the two mile extension of the project. Unique aspects of the extension were repairs to a historic stone arch culvert that had collapsed; a new 80’ pedestrian truss bridge, and a trail crossing under the Thruway; designing through the Irondequoit Creek Flood Plain, and addressing impacts through environmentally sensitive areas of importance to the local Audubon society. These areas are known to contain a threatened plant species.

Fisher also provided construction support services to municipal forces who constructed the trail and assisted the town in preparing Sponsor Reimbursement Requests and other recordkeeping required as part of the federal aid process.

The Auburn Trail Connector is located in the Town of Farmington and runs for three miles connecting County Road 41 and Canandaigua-Farmington Town Line Road. A feasibility study, administered by the Town of Farmington, was conducted over a span of two years to determine the best route for a trail to connect the existing Auburn Trail and Ontario Pathways through the Towns of Farmington and Canandaigua and the City of Canandaigua. A 15-person Project Advisory Group (PAG) was consulted periodically throughout the study. The preferred trail alignment that resulted from the study and the PAG meetings was broken up into 5 segments, the first of which is this segment through the Town of Farmington.

This project involved the development of a multi-use trail that provides a bicycle and pedestrian connection between the existing Auburn Trail and four subdivision neighborhoods located on and near Canandaigua-Farmington Town Line Road and other key area destinations. The project is Phase I of a nine mile trail link connecting the existing Auburn and Ontario Pathways trails.

Prior to completion of this trail segment, pedestrians and bicyclists used the existing sidewalk system in the town or walked along the shoulders of the roads. The trail project provides a safe, largely off-road route and provides connections to residential neighborhoods (Farmbrook Subdivision, Mountain Ash Drive, Auburn Meadows) and the existing regional trail system. A pedestrian crossing safety analysis was conducted at the proposed Auburn Trail crossings on County Road 41 and Canandaigua-Farmington Town Line Road in the Town of Farmington, New York. This study determined the number of acceptable gaps for pedestrians to cross the road and the likelihood of pedestrian risk-taking behavior based on pedestrian delay.

The environmental tasks included NEPA and SEQRA documentation, social and economic impacts, wetland screening/identification; hazardous waste / contaminated material and asbestos-containing material studies; surface water and groundwater; threatened and endangered species; 4(f)/6(f) screenings; farmlands; and historic and cultural resources investigation coordination. The project also included the delineation of several wetlands that would be impacted due to the construction. Fisher Associates worked with the USACE for the negotiation and permitting of wetland mitigation using the In-Lieu Fee Program to purchase wetland credits since there was no available area for conducting on-site mitigation.