Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says the Midtown Linear Park is part of a larger vision for equitable community investments
The Midtown Linear Park provides a critically-needed non-motorized transportation link between Midtown and the Kingston Plaza, improving food access and offering real solutions to the rising cost of fuel
KINGSTON, N.Y. - Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced today that the Midtown Linear Park project in Kingston is now open to the public. The park is part of the Kingston Greenline and runs from Cornell Street through Midtown to Westbrook Lane. It provides a critically-needed non-motorized transportation link between Midtown Kingston and the Kingston Plaza, home to the city’s only major supermarket and a UCAT bus transit hub. The Midtown Linear Park project converts a formerly blighted and nuisance corridor into a community amenity and asset, providing much-needed recreational green space for a neighborhood that currently lacks close access to open space and parkland.
“The Midtown Linear Park is more than a park; it’s part of a larger vision for an equitable economy: addressing food security through better access to the supermarket and offering real solutions to the rising cost of fuel with a walkable, bikeable path through the heart of Kingston, and a link to the UCAT bus,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said. “The Midtown Linear Park is also a physical reminder that we need to continue to invest in our communities. For Kingston residents, this is a critical investment in a neighborhood that has traditionally been left behind.”
"This project is the culmination of so much collaboration between levels of government and those outside of government to improve the lives of families right here in Kingston. I want to thank my colleagues for believing in the value of this project,” Ulster County Legislature Deputy Majority Leader Abe Uchitelle said. “Residents of Midtown deserve safe and well maintained outdoor space, and I'm so proud to see this project come to fruition in the heart of Kingston."
“I want to thank the County Executive and the County planning team for building this important section of the Kingston Greenline, which provides a vital connection to food, resources, and the Midtown Business District,” Kingston’s Mayor Steve Noble said. “Adding green spaces, especially in Midtown, was identified in both the City of Kingston's Open Space Plan and our Parks & Recreation master plan, and we're thrilled that the Midtown Linear Park will offer these amenities to our community. We appreciate the County's support in helping us realize this vision.”
“With this park, it’s easy for us to connect from Midtown to Hannaford,” Pastor Fernando Salazar of the 2nda Iglesia La Mision Church said. “I have a dog, and that’s one of the best spots to walk, ride a bike and have a safe place for our kids to play in our community. My congregation, who live around Midtown Kingston, are so excited about it.”
The Midtown Linear Park is a 12-foot wide asphalt-paved surface that is ADA compliant and open for non-motorized uses, including walking, biking, jogging, dog walking and inline skating. The first phase of this federally-funded transportation project to design and construct a shared-use trail along the County’s former Ulster & Delaware (U&D) Corridor is now complete, putting in place trail infrastructure, and the park is now open to the public. The next phase of the project will add more plantings and park amenities, and will include solicitation of public input on the design.
For more information on the Midtown Linear Park, visit https://ulstercountyny.gov/planning/linearpark.
Last month, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced that Ulster County has received $3.96 million from New York State to convert 2.5 miles of the Ulster & Delaware (U&D) Railroad corridor to a multi-use trail with pedestrian bridges. The funding will be used to promote environmentally-friendly modes of travel on the corridor from Highmount to Belleayre Beach in the Town of Shandaken, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
On June 1st, 2022, a new law proposed by Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and approved by the Ulster County Legislature to cut county gas taxes went into effect. It cuts county gas taxes by 50% through December 1st, 2022.
Photo caption: Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, Legislator Abe Uchitelle and other members of the Ulster County Legislature, Pastor Fernando Salazar, Comptroller March Gallagher and representatives of the Kingston Land Trust, the Woodstock Land Conservancy, Friends of the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail, the YMCA and the Midtown community at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Midtown Linear Park between Downs and Oneil Streets in Kingston.
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