Paved Trails in the Woods?

Despite its many nature trails through preserved tracts of woods, East Hampton Town lacks even one for people who need a smooth, flat surface — the wheelchair-bound, the elderly, those who are injured or less agile — can enjoy the outdoors, Mario Bladuell, an East Hampton resident, told the town board this week.

Mr. Bladuell has been working on a plan for a paved loop of trails through the woods, and after presenting it to the town nature preserve committee, made his case to the board members on Tuesday.

“Sidewalks are not always adequate or available,” he said. A paved woods trail would provide a safer place to walk, jog, or bicycle away from traffic and noise, while providing a getaway into nature, he said. 

The town’s miles of trails are good for fit walkers, joggers, and mountain bikers, he said, but are “not adequate or even possible” for people with mobility issues. A level, eight-foot-wide paved surface would allow them to stroll two abreast, without the care or attention required when walking on uneven terrain.  It would also limit exposure to ticks, he said.

Mr. Bladuell proposed using a section of the 300-acre Buckskill Preserve, part of which is owned by the town and part by the county, to install five miles of paved walkway. The area lies north of the intersection of Stephen Hand’s Path and Route 114 in East Hampton, with the Ross School property on its northern edge. The land there, he said, is flat, which is essential for wheelchair use; other protected tracts are too hilly, he said.

Two concentric ovals with four connecting sections would provide numerous choices for routes of varied lengths, Mr. Bladuell said. Existing unpaved nature trails throughout the preserve would be untouched.

“This would be a facility unlike any other on the East End,” he told the board, noting that in winter the path could be used for cross-country skiing. It would provide “all year, all-weather use, at no cost to users.”

Mr. Bladuell said he would raise money for construction of the path, which he estimated “in the high six figures,” by soliciting private donations. “I am not going to rely on a crowd-funding effort to do the heavy lifting,” he told the board, but would mount that type of campaign to garner public support and raise enough money to maintain the paths.

“The idea of having an area in town where young children could learn to ride their bikes, where people with strollers could walk, that would be [Americans With Disabilities Act] accessible, for people that are rehabilitating injuries — those are all attributes we need,” Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc told Mr. Bladuell. But he said he had “deep concern” about clearing acreage in the Buckskill area, which is a large woodland block in a water-recharge area.

Mr. Bladuell said the town planning director, Marguerite Wolffsohn, had expressed concerns as well. Because of its size, the Buckskill Preserve provides habitat for species of birds and other wildlife that prefer forest interiors.

“I like the idea of the proposal, but I’m having a hard time seeing how this fits on this property,” Mr. Van Scoyoc said. “I think there are other areas in town that could accommodate it.”

Councilwoman Sylvia Overby questioned the necessity for the eight-foot width of the paths. It was proposed, Mr. Bladuell said, to provide enough room for a wheelchair and walkers to pass without going off the path into the brush, which would “defeat the purpose,” he said, of helping people avoid ticks.

“I’m not sure where this is going at the moment,” Supervisor Larry Cantwell told him. “Give us a chance to digest it.”