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At the September 17, 2009 meeting of the Hamlet of Carmel Civic association, Putnam County Planner, John Pilner, provided Hamlet residents with an update on the construction progress of the Putnam Trailway Bike Path. The path, which is already complete between Baldwin Place, NY, and the Hamlet of Carmel, is being extended to Southeast and, eventually, to the village of Brewster.

The section that is under currently under construction runs from Route 6 at Lake Gleneida to Old Mine Road (Tilly Foster) in Southeast. That section is currently ahead of schedule and is projected to be completed by November 2009. The next section, from Tilly Foster to Putnam Avenue in Southeast (opposite Putnam County Savings Bank) is scheduled to be completed by May 2010. The section from Putnam Avenue through North Main Street in Brewster to Pumphouse Road is still in the design phase. A section from there to the Danbury border has not been designed yet but funds are already in place for that project. Mr. Pilner also noted that a separate bike path from the Dutchess County border to Route 164 in Patterson, NY (near Bullet Hole Road) is also in the design phase and should go out to bid soon. The entire project is being funded through Federal grants that have been obtained by the Putnam County Planning Department.

The County Planner also gave an update on proposed sidewalks for the Hamlet of Carmel, which will also be constructed with grant money. Sidewalks will run from the intersection of Routes 6 and 52, opposite Reed Library, east past Putnam Plaza Shopping Center and provide access to the bike path at Old Route 6 (opposite Bob’s Auto Parts). Another section of sidewalk will run from that intersection, along Old Route Six and provide access to the bike path near Scheck’s Pool and Spa Center. Other planned sidewalks will be constructed between Reed Library and the small shopping center behind it; along Church Street; and up Seminary Hill Road. The last sidewalk section, which has not yet been designed, will run from the Shoprite Plaza on Route 52 into Kent as far as Barrett Hill Road.

—Special to the Courier