PLATTSBURGH — In honor of Thelma I. Douglas, an early proponent of a river trail in the City of Plattsburgh, the Saranac River Trail Greenway has been extended based on her original plan.
“The Saranac River Trail Greenway began when people involved with opening the first trail in the City of Plattsburgh looked around and said, ‘let’s continue this trail beyond the city limits, following the Saranac River,’” Paula Calkins-Lacombe, Saranac River Trail Greenway, Inc. board member said at a ceremony dedicating the new portion of the trail Thursday.
“The vision was a multi-use trail system, or a greenway, around 27 miles from Peace Point Park near the shores of Lake Champlain, to the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in the Town of Saranac.”
The new segment begins at the end of George Angell Drive, next to the Douglas Footbridge behind Plattsburgh High School. It leads around the school athletic complex next to the river and exits onto Adirondack Lane, with a short walk to the end for a clear view of the Imperial Mill Dam.
The public trail is marked by the blue “Saranac River Trail” signs.
EXISTING FOOTPATHS
The new segment makes use of existing footpaths which have been laid in by years of people walking the formerly unofficial trail, Micheal Coon, Saranac River Trail Greenway, Inc. president, said.
“Fortunately we are using an existing footpath, so the alignment determined itself,” Coon said.
Members of the Saranac River Trail Greenway, Inc. board were joined by Mayor Chris Rosenquest and Jay Lebrun, Plattsburgh City School District Superintendent of Schools, for a ribbon cutting ceremony opening the trail to the public.
“Thank you to the Greenway for making this happen,” Rosenquest said.
“It’s one thing, as Jay noted, to (have a) partnership between the municipal organizations, if you will, but it’s the group of volunteers that really drive this home, as groups of volunteers do throughout the city of Plattsburgh, and our region.”
DOUGLAS LEGACY
Calkins-Lacombe said Douglas, a former coach and physical education teacher at Plattsburgh High School, envisioned trails throughout the City of Plattsburgh.
“I think she would be pleased today,” Calkins-Lacombe said.
About 50 years ago, Douglas had marked out a trail along the river. Lebrun said it would be appropriate to name this portion of the trail after Douglas.
“And here we are now. How appropriate,” Calkins-Lacombe said.
The new section of trail also connects to the nearby footbridge over the river that is also named for Douglas, the school district’s first female athletic director and an advocate of fitness for all ages.
“With regards to the namesake, there are others here who can speak better than can I about the impact of Thelma Douglas, but I have studied her contributions long enough to know some things, and foremost amongst those is that in the history of this city, she stands amongst those who are most central to physical recreation, and specifically outdoor recreation,” Lebrun said.
“She was a champion of that. and I think what we’re seeing here is, as evidenced by this rendering from those decades ago, the fulfillment of one of her many dreams.”
The route of the new segment lies within school grounds.
“This trail segment is unique in that it’s on school property, so the school has agreed to the groundskeepers working to maintain the trail,” Coon said.