HSBC bank supports greenway

Christmas came a week early for the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway with a donation from HSBC Bank. The $5,000 donation will allow the Friends to produce a long awaited and much needed Greenway brochure. This brochure will be distributed in response to information requests and made available at tourism centers, Chambers of Commerce and local businesses.

Robert A. Boyd, Senior Vice President at HSBC Bank USA, presented the $5,000 check to Joan Schumaker and Edward Holmes, Friends Board Members, at the HSBC Avon Branch Office. In discussing the Genesee Valley Greenway, Boyd related some first hand experiences that emphasize the importance of this project. "My family and I have explored sections of the Greenway in and around Rochester and have been both surprised and pleased by the scenic vistas and beauty we discovered. However, the lack of a good trail map was most frustrating."

The Greenway has received some important exposure as a result of its inclusion in the 2003 Finger Lakes Travel Guide and being listed as one of New York's Top Trails in the recently released and nationally distributed Official Rails to Trails Conservancy Guidebook: New York.

In addition to a trail map, the brochure will contain information about the Greenway and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway organization.

The Genesee Valley Greenway is a 90-mile multi-use trail and natural resource corridor open to the public year round for hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling. It extends from Genesee Valley Park in Rochester to Hinsdale in Cattaraugus County, following the route of the former Genesee Valley Canal and Pennsylvania Railroad, Rochester Branch.

Presently, 52 of the 90 miles of trail are now open for use. The Genesee Valley Greenway is being developed by a partnership involving the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and the Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway.