Suffolk County’s Greenleaf Trail Gathers Momentum

In January, Parks & Trails New York selected the Greenleaf Trail in Suffolk County, New York, to receive technical assistance through its Healthy Trails, Healthy People program. The proposed trail, spearheaded by the Tuthills Creek Alliance, will consist of 15-20 miles of multi-use paths that would use existing and proposed trails to connect Bayport, Blue Point, Patchogue, Sayville and Holbrook in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven.

Since launching the project three years ago, community sparkplug Ed Silsbe has been able to garner support from a wide variety of organizations and individuals, including New York Assemblywoman Ginny Fields, Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists (CLIMB), Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, Long Island Sierra Club, and a number of civic associations that represent residential subdivisions near the proposed trail.

Much of the proposed Greenleaf Trail system is composed of lands already in the public domain because when housing subdivisions were constructed in the town of Islip, the town required developers to set aside land for future use as Municipal Purposes either in a natural state or for the installation of bicycle paths. Trail supporters are also looking forward to working with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) as the foundation for the proposed Greenleaf Trail will be the existing paved trails along LIPA right-of-ways.

Working closely with Parks & Trails New York, the Tuthills Creek Alliance is currently engaged in project promotion and meeting with the Town of Islip Planning Department to best determine where and when Phase I of the project will begin. The alliance has also been communicating with the local Police Academy and the Suffolk County Police Department’s 5th Precinct about trail patrols.

(from Parks & Trails NY Enewsletter)