Basin Road Station vs. Stony Hollow Station

• Regional Attraction: Connecting the Kingston the Ashokan Rail Trail via the CMRR and to Woodstock via Trolley Bus will create a regional attraction far larger than each is now.
• Train Station: First in Ulster County in 100 years. Western terminus for CMRR.
• Multiple Destinations: Visitors can get off the train to access to Ashokan Rail Trail, local trolley bus service, or UCAT. They can rent bikes to use the ART.
• Size/Parking: Station site is 5 acres with parking for 75 or more.
• Rail-Only Easement: The County only has a rail-only easement through the 5-acre site, and has been unsuccessful negotiating a trail easement with the owner.
• Trail Easement: CMRR has a 15-year lease with the property owner which includes the right to build a parallel trail to the tracks which the County was unable to obtain.
• Top of 2% Grade: Site is at the top of the 2% grade and is level from the site to the ART.
• Zoning: Zoning for site is “neighborhood commercial” which is consistent with site use.
• Neighborhood: Will revitalize the blighted intersection of Route 28 with Zena/Basin Road.
• Wetlands: None
• Access: Route 28 through signal at Basin/Zena Road and a direct connection to Basin Road. Safer signaled entrance to the Ashokan Rail Trail than current un-signaled one.
• Distance from ART: ART is 100 feet away (starts just across Basin Road).
• Bathrooms: Indoor public bathrooms, bike rental, food concessions, and event space.
• Ashokan Express: CMRR rail shuttle will haul bikes up to Basin Road from Kingston, as well as strollers, people with mobility issues and seniors who can’t use the trail.
• Thruway Signs: Indoor public bathrooms allow posting site on Thruway “Attractions” signs.
• Trolley Bus Service: Only available at this location – will serve businesses in West Hurley, Towns of Kingston and Woodstock and lessen traffic and parking issues in Woodstock.
• Off-Rail Bike Trolley: Trolley will also serve bicyclists who want to use the rack on the bus to take their bikes safely from Woodstock to the Ashokan Rail Trail.
• Trolley Public Use: Trolley will be available to the general public to use to take to Woodstock even if they don’t ride the train.
• UC tourism: Will have an office/booth at the station.
• Funding: Station will be paid for by the CMRR, NYSDOT ($667k), and the property owner.
• Movie Shoots: Period Station will be great site for Movie Shoots.
• Endorsements: Extension has been endorsed by the Towns of Hurley, Kingston and Ulster.
• Gateway: Tourist gateway for the ART, the U&D Corridor and the Catskills Scenic Byway.
• County Ownership: Not needed. The CMRR will rent the site from an adjacent property owner for a terminal. Identical to Rail Explorers rental of the Phoenicia Station site from the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia, which owns the station and all adjacent land.
• Economic Impact: By connecting the train and the trail, annual economic benefits for the train will increase by $3.4m per year and the ART by $1.3m per year. The Trolley Bus will bring even more by adding a “Woodstock Express” to the “Ashokan Express” rail shuttle from Kingston.

Detailed Map of the Proposed CMRR Extension from Stony Hollow to the Ashokan Reservoir

• Planning Dept.: no statement on feasibility for use recommended by Legislator Collins.
• Wetlands: Site is designated KW-3 Freshwater Wetland with no room for mitigation to accommodate any facility development.
• Size/Parking: Northern site is composed of a 70-foot wide 140-foot-deep (.22 acre) tract that is not useable beyond 60 feet from the track (.10 acres) due to steep topography. Southern parking site is .18 acres and limited to 13 spaces. Total .4 acres.
• Rail-only Easement: Site is on a rail-only easement and not owned by County. County cannot take this through planning until they perform eminent domain.
• Zoning: Station is limited to 50 feet in length as opposed to 120 feet at Basin Road, and cannot accommodate more than one use.
• Access: Through Route 28A not Route 28 and can accommodate little traffic.
• Distance from Ashokan Rail Trail “ART”: Stony Hollow is 2 miles from the Woodstock Dike Trailhead, which is up a 2% grade for 1.7 miles west of Stony Hollow. Too far for pedestrians to walk to the Ashokan Reservoir, and without a bike rental shop visitors cannot rent bikes.
• Bathrooms: There is no room for septic on the site, so no indoor bathrooms are possible.
• Thruway Signs: Without indoor bathrooms, not eligible for Thruway “attractions” signs
• Trolley Bus/UCAT: No room for a Trolley Bus or a UCAT stop.
• Operational Feasibility: CMRR is only being offered 300 feet of track and needs 1100 feet to safely operate, similar to what is in Kingston. This not enough room for more than an engine and three cars.  We typically run 7 car trains; nine with Polar Express.
• North Pole/Harry Potter: Not suitable for either use. Use as the North Pole/Harry Potter would mean extensive blocking of the Route 28A intersection during the Santa run-bys of the whole train. Current North Pole is 100 feet wide – this site is only 70 feet wide. Intended use was only as a flag stop.
• Funding: NYSDOT grant of $667,000 would not be available for this site.
• Current Use: Northern site is in the Town of Kingston. Site is currently occupied by the historic Madden House which is in a state of extreme disrepair.
• Trail Duplication: Will create unnecessary third bike trail between Stony Hollow and Basin Road (the other two are Route 28 and Basin Road/Route 28A).
• Location: Middle of nowhere. Creates “Train to Nowhere” and “Trail to Nowhere”.
• Economic Impact for ART: Trail will dead-end here with no connection to Kingston with no incremental economic impact unless it is extended to Kingston.
• Economic Impact for CMRR: Railroad will dead-end here with no connection to the ART with no incremental economic impact unless it is extended to Basin Road.
• Rail with Trail: By not resolving the “Rail with Trail” issue from Basin Road to Stony Hollow it encourages a review of the current “Rail with Trail” designation from Stony Hollow to Kingston. “Rail with Trail” issues are more difficult and expensive from Stony Hollow to Kingston, making changing this designation from “Rail with Trail” to “Trail Only” the only way to build a trail all the way to Kingston, thereby eliminating the railroad completely.