Oneonta Expands Greenway Network with Roundhouse Road Trail

By LUCAS BERG
SUNY Institute for Local News
ONEONTA

Community members and volunteers gathered on Thursday, September 3 to celebrate the opening of the Roundhouse Road Trail, a nearly one-third-of-a-mile-long path that expands the Oneonta Susquehanna Greenway and gives residents another traffic-free place to walk, ride, and experience the city’s wetlands and woods.

The ceremony marked the completion of a roughly five-year effort by the OSG Committee and the City of Oneonta Department of Public Service/Public Works. The trail runs parallel to Roundhouse Road, west of its intersection with Fonda Avenue, and connects the roadside area near Fonda Avenue with an opening across from Noah’s World.

The pathway is made for anyone interested in a quick escape from the streets of downtown Oneonta into the relative calm of the riverside woods. Starting with a small step over the guardrail on Fonda Avenue, the short route includes grassy and dirt surfaces, exposed tree roots, rolling humps, and four small bridges. It is open for walking, mountain biking and nature enjoyment. Its uneven, natural surface also distinguishes it from the greenway’s paved segments.

Donna Vogler, an OSG committee member who organized the ceremony, said volunteers bring different skills to the group’s work.

“I think trail-loving people find each other and I think that’s how a lot of the members of the Greenway got together,” said Vogler.

The volunteers’ responsibilities can include planning, fundraising, securing permits, building trail features and maintaining completed routes.

“They offer help and some people have tools and know how to use them. Some people know how to work with the grants. So, we all have our little specialties,” Vogler explained.

“We meet once a month right in City Hall,” she added, “and go through each of the sections of the trail—because we have not only this, we have six other segments that we are managing.”

Two of those “trail loving” individuals are retired elementary school teacher Sandy Bright and her husband, Charlie Scheim, a retired Hartwick College professor. Both have volunteered with the committee for more than 15 years. Bright runs the digital side of things, managing the group’s website and public relations. Scheim said his job is mostly “labor,” including “building all of these bridges and putting up the railings and things like that.”

The trail was officially unveiled by way of ribbon cutting. Friends and family joined committee members to hear a few words. Vogler spoke first and described why the undeveloped parcel was suited to a trail and why the work took time.

“It is vacant land from the city’s perspective. And because of the slope and the fact that there’s a stream that runs through it, it’s not really developable in an urban sense. But these are the kind of places that we look for, to just get away and spend a little time.”

She also explained that despite it being a short path, the work took considerable time.

“It was no easy task,” Vogler said. “We require the state wetlands permit, the federal permits. So, it took us a couple of years. But here we are today, celebrating its opening.”

Moments before the official opening of the trail, Bright made one final poignant remark that summed up the considerable effort that went into the compact segment.

“I think that we have put more time and effort into this short trail than any other trail. But I think it’s worth it.”

The Roundhouse Road Trail joins a network that began as an effort to reconnect Oneonta residents with the Susquehanna River after I-88 reduced easy access, according to the OSG’s website. The first OSG section opened at Silas Lane in 2006. The network now includes multiple segments along the river and its tributaries, as well as trails on watershed and county forest lands.

Existing destinations include the two-mile Silas Lane loop, the paved and accessible Mill Race Trail behind Damaschke Field in Neahwa Park, a half-mile paved loop at Catella Park, and just over three miles of walking and mountain biking trails on New Island. OSG also maintains routes at the Van Cleft Bird Sanctuary and in the Oneonta Creek area north of the city, although several Oneonta Creek trails are currently closed for logging.

The committee continues to plan connections among existing trail areas, including an anticipated future link between New Island and Fortin Park.
For the volunteers gathered at Roundhouse Road on September 3, however, the opening was also a reminder that even a short trail can turn overlooked land into a shared neighborhood resource—one built through years of local knowledge, public work and volunteer labor.

More information, trail descriptions and updates are available at oneontagreenway.org.

This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Lab, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.