S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7736
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. KIM -- read once and referred to the Committee on
   Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development
 
 AN  ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law, in
   relation to directing the office of  parks,  recreation  and  historic
   preservation  to promulgate uniform design standards and manage appli-
   cations for greenway trails
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  7-a of section 3.09 of the parks, recreation
 and historic preservation law, as added by chapter 999 of  the  laws  of
 1973, is amended to read as follows:
   7-a.  (A)  Promulgate  a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a
 state-wide trails system. For the purposes of this subdivision  "trails"
 shall  include  footpaths,  bike  ways, snowmobile trails, horse trails,
 cross country ski trails, roads and  other  rights-of-way  suitable  for
 hiking,  strolling, cycling, horseback riding, skiing and other means of
 motorized and non-motorized travel for recreational purposes  and  shall
 include  combinations  and  systems  of trails, including connecting and
 side trails, and trails leading to scenic and  recreational  areas.  The
 commissioner,  with  the  approval  of  the director of the budget, may,
 within the appropriations made available by  the  legislature,  purchase
 such  abandoned  railroad rights-of-way as can be used in the comprehen-
 sive plan, and make improvements where necessary, in order to make  them
 suitable and available for use as trails.
   (B) PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING DESIGN STANDARDS FOR
 GREENWAY  TRAILS.  SUCH  DESIGN  STANDARDS SHALL IDENTIFY BEST PRACTICES
 FOR, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  TRAIL  DESIGN  SPECIFICATIONS,  ROAD
 CROSSING TREATMENTS, AND BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES.  SUCH DESIGN
 STANDARDS  SHALL BE USED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE TO GUIDE DESIGN
 FOR ANY MULTIPLE USE BICYCLE AND  PEDESTRIAN  FACILITIES,  RAIL  TRAILS,
 CANALWAY TRAILS, OR OTHER GREENWAY TRAILS, AS SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03339-01-5
              

 A. 7736                             2
 
 OFFICE, WHICH IS ESTABLISHED OR IMPROVED ON STATE LAND OR USING STATE OR
 FEDERAL FUNDING.
   (C)  BE  EMPOWERED  TO  DENY NEW GREENWAY TRAIL APPLICATIONS UNDER THE
 JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE, FOR FAILING TO CONFORM  WITH  THE  STANDARDS
 ESTABLISHED  UNDER  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  AND STATE THE
 REASONS FOR SUCH DENIAL TO BE ENUMERATED WITH  A  WRITTEN  JUSTIFICATION
 WHICH SHALL BE POSTED PUBLICLY ONLINE.
   (D)  BE  EMPOWERED TO DENY APPLICATIONS FOR THE EXPANSION OR MODIFICA-
 TION OF GREENWAY TRAILS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE, FOR  FAIL-
 ING  TO  CONFORM  WITH  THE STANDARDS ESTABLISHED UNDER PARAGRAPH (A) OF
 THIS SUBDIVISION AND STATE THE REASONS FOR SUCH DENIAL TO BE  ENUMERATED
 WITH A WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION WHICH SHALL BE POSTED PUBLICLY ONLINE.
   (E)  BE  EMPOWERED  TO  DETERMINE  THAT, FOR ANY NEW TRAIL ESTABLISHED
 UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE OR FOR ANY EXPANSION  OR  MODIFICA-
 TION OF EXISTING TRAILS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE, CONFORMITY
 TO  THE  STANDARDS  ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS SECTION IS INAPPROPRIATE, FOR
 REASONS WHICH SHALL BE ENUMERATED IN A WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION TO BE POST-
 ED PUBLICLY ONLINE.
   (F) DESIGN STANDARDS ISSUED UNDER PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION OR
 ANY APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATIONS UNDER PARAGRAPHS (C) THROUGH  (E)
 OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  NOT HAVE THE EFFECT OF REQUIRING ANY ADDI-
 TIONAL USES OR DISALLOWING ANY EXISTING USES ON ANY GREENWAY TRAIL.
   § 2.  Section 1.03 of the parks, recreation and historic  preservation
 law is amended by adding a new subdivision 19 to read as follows:
   19.  "GREENWAY  TRAIL" SHALL MEAN A SHARED-USE PATH, INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO ANY TRAIL LOCATED ON  FORMER  RAILROAD  RIGHTS-OF-WAY,  ALONG
 UTILITY  CORRIDORS,  OR  ALONG  FORMER CANAL TOWPATHS, THAT IS SEPARATED
 FROM ROADWAYS AND VEHICLE TRAFFIC, AND INCLUDES A MINIMUM TREAD WIDTH OF
 SIX FEET, A RELATIVELY FLAT, GRADED SURFACE AND/OR IMPROVED  TREAD,  AND
 WHICH CAN BE USED FOR NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION AND RECREATION.
   §  3.    This  act  shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day
 after it shall have become a law.