Rails to Trails receives grant

SPRINGVILLE — The Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail has secured a mini-grant from Parks and Trails New York’s “Healthy Trails, Healthy People” Program.

The $722 grant will be used to create a trail visioning poster, which will assist the village of Springville, in partnership with the Springville “Pop” Warner Trail Steering Committee, in generating community participation and interest in rail trail design and planning. Matching funds will also be provided by the village, the “Pop” Warner Trail Steering Committee and the Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail.

A student from the Urban Design Project at the department of agriculture and planning at State University of New York at Buffalo will provide geographic information systems mapping, photo rendering and production of the poster.

In addition to monetary funding, the parent 501(c)3 Erie County Rail Trail will provide volunteer oversight of this endeavor.

According to rail trail President Anne Bergantz, “The resulting poster(s) will be used in future community-wide trail visioning workshops and be displayed throughout the village of Springville, to generate interest, discussion and planning for the eventual ‘Pop’ Warner Trail development.”

This is the second visioning poster and mini-grant awarded to the ECRT. A similar project was undertaken in 2011, on behalf of the village of Orchard Park and its local trail development efforts.

The ECRT was founded in 2009, to support the preservation of the right-of-way of the former 27-mile Buffalo-Pittsburgh rail corridor, connecting the towns of Orchard Park, Aurora, Colden, Concord, Ashford and the village of Springville and its conversion to a multi-purpose recreational trail.

For more information about local trail development, email info@ecattrail.org or visit www.ecattrail.org.