The Adirondack North Country Region Bicycle Master Plan highlights four major bicycle planning objectives that are integral to achieving the status of a nationally recognized bicycling area. These "next steps" will lead the region towards recognition as a premier bicycling area, if carried out through the cooperative efforts of interested citizens, local businesses, tourism offices, state and local highway departments, state land management agencies, and regional planning organizations. The four objectives are as follows:

The primary recommendations of the Bicycle Master Plan are organized under each of the four objectives as follows:

A North Country Region Bicycle/Pedestrian Review Committee must be established to coordinate bicycle planning and promotion of the region as a premier bicycle destination. NYSDEC, NYSDOT, and other State agencies must lend support to the regional effort by supporting ANCA, the Tug Hill Commission, the St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission (SLEOC), Lake Champlain Bikeways Committee, Seaway Trail, Inc., and others in the establishment and maintenance of the committee. It is suggested that the committee will be composed of two individuals from each of the 14 counties in the region, or 28 people.

ANCA continues to promote the development of a regional bicycle map illustrating the Scenic Byway bicycle routes through the region. The preliminary regional and county bicycle route maps developed for this project and distributed with the Master Plan are working, draft maps, to be reviewed and refined by planners, highway officials, bicycle clubs, bicycle shop owners, and other interested individuals in each county.

A statewide, inter-agency set of standards and procedures needs to be established for ensuring that the GIS data produced by all New York State agencies is accurate, current, and interchangeable. GIS is quickly becoming a necessary regional planning tool.

Bicycle route signage a high priority in the region and along the Scenic Byways. NYSDOT regions in the North Country can work with local organizations in establishing uniform bicycle signage along the Scenic Byways and other bicycle routes. Coordination of NYSDOT Regions 1, 2, 3, and 7 will ensure that signage appearance and location are standardized throughout the region. NYSDOT officials can coordinate with ANCA to ensure bicycle signage is consistent with existing Scenic Byway signage. Coordination also can include bicycle signage and bicycle mapping activities in Ontario and Quebec, since international bicycle loops are being actively explored that link into the Scenic Byways. Also in terms of signage, mile markers can be consistently used throughout the region so that future bicycle mapping might be keyed to mile marker location. The location of lodging, attractions, and points of interest could all be linked to mile markers through the GIS regional database.

Each county within the region needs to quickly assess all potential rail-to-trails projects within their borders. NYSDOT and NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP) can assist in this effort by providing the funds and expertise necessary for developing a GIS database of all current, planned, and potential rails-to-trails projects in the region. Dedicated trail systems are proven to be valuable tourist attractions, as well as providing safe, bicycle recreation opportunities for local residents. Railroad rights-of-way are the most cost-effective way of developing off-road bicycle trail systems, and can provide alternative routes to Scenic Byway routes experiencing heavy traffic flow. However, once the right-of-way has passed into private hands, it is a very difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes cost-prohibitive process to bring those areas back into the public domain.

Each local community needs to assess the bicycle friendliness of their roads and streets, and begin incorporating safe bicycle facilities into their community plans and projects. The Bicycle Master Plan lists many, relatively easy and inexpensive steps towards bicycle friendliness, including: bicycle racks, off-street parking, repaving shoulders, sweeping shoulders, adding bicycle signs, using bicycle friendly storm drains, reduced speed limits, etc. Additional bicycle friendly recommendations include the following:

NYSDOT must provide leadership in improving cooperative bicycle planning between NYSDOT regions, and especially between NYSDOT and the county and other local highway departments. Education and outreach are needed for educating and encouraging local highway departments on the importance of bicycle friendly improvements on the Scenic Byways System, and throughout the region in general. In the vicinity of communities, local roads and streets provide alternate routes to the Scenic Byways, especially for families and inexperienced bicyclists because of relatively lower traffic volumes. Local highway officials must be familiar with the importance of shoulder width, shoulder repair, and shoulder sweeping in developing the region's reputation as a premier bicycling destination.

NYSDOT can encourage the various St. Lawrence River Bridge Authorities to address necessary bicycle friendly improvements on the bridge crossings. One limit to international bicycling promotion between the region and Canada are the real bicycle hazards represented by the difficulty in bicycling across the St. Lawrence River bridges. If bridge reconstruction will not be occurring soon, temporary measures to be explored by the bridge authorities include additional ferries, busing bicyclists, and other innovations.

The NYS Department of Health continues to develop additional public outreach materials that encourage bicycle safety training in local communities. Informative advertising on the availability of bicycle safety materials appearing each spring in every local newspaper in the region would get the word out.

Regional tourism officials need to continue to encourage the public carriers to accommodate travelers with bicycles. Bicyclists find it difficult or impossible to bring their bicycles into the region on airplanes, buses, and trains. Canadian rail lines are setting the example by accommodating bicycles on trains.

The development and publishing of more local county and sub-regional bicycle maps is necessary to successfully promoting the area and link bicycle tourism to local economies. Local maps will be able to note more clearly the location of points of interest, historic sites, bicycle facilities, and businesses along the Scenic Byways of interest to bicyclists. Counties also need to work with neighboring counties in designating, signing, and maintaining shared bicycle routes and loops, using the Scenic Byways as the basis of such routes. Innovative approaches need to be explored that allow bicycle planning and promotion to ignore political boundaries. Cooperative efforts will cut costs and save taxpayer dollars.

Additional collaborative planning and promotion activities (i.e., public/private partnerships) need to be established in order for the region to become a premier bicycling area. The State's active presence in the region (e.g., NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), Adirondack Park Agency (APA), NYSOPRHP) and extensive land holdings have tended to limit what the private sector can accomplish alone in the way of bicycle planning and promotion. The recent establishment and promotion of Mount Van Hoevenberg as a mountain biking center during 1994 is an excellent example of what a public/private partnership can accomplish. The State ski facilities of Whiteface and Gore Mountains could offer a similar opportunity for mountain biking.

The most effective public message about bicycling in the region would be a collaborative effort among state agencies and the tourism industry. State land and resource management agencies, such as NYSDEC and the APA can provide the "wise use" public education message for inclusion in private promotions, while the private sector can help NYSDEC and other agencies better represent the region's tourism infrastructure in their many recreational brochures. The goal is a unified message that serves the needs of both land managers and the tourism industry, rather than a mixed message that can lead to confusion and disappointment for visitors.

French translation needs to be incorporated into most bicycle maps and promotions. As much as one-third of the visitation to the northern part of the region is composed of visitors from Canada. While not all Canadian visitors are French speaking, the proximity of Quebec, and especially Montreal, indicates that a large potential market exists there. Quebec tourism officials are planning to reciprocate with English translation in their bicycle promotions.

Day trips and loops need be developed off the Scenic Byways linking to the New York Canal System, enhancing the impacts of bicycling beyond the canal tow path and immediate vicinity. The North Shore Loop around Oneida Lake in Oswego and Oneida counties is one example that is under development.

NYSDEC, must act aggressively in developing and implementing a recreation trail management plan on the Lake Placid-Remsen corridor in a collaborative manner. NYSDEC can work with NYSDOT, NYSOPRHP, regional and local planners, ANCA, the Adirondack Railroad Preservation Society, and with the tourism industry in developing the corridor as a bicycle/hiking trail, as well as an excursion/passenger train line in specific locations. There are likely few other recreation trails in the country that would offer the diversity of environments, views of wilderness, history, and access to diverse recreational pursuits as would the Lake Placid-Remsen recreation trail. Bicycle transportation use of the trail would be significant in the Lake Placid - Saranac Lake - Tupper Lake area, where bicycle routes are confined primarily to high traffic volume roads. Scenic Byways intersect the rail line in at least four locations, providing significant tourism promotion potential.

Local and regional tourism promotion groups, and state agencies serving the region can develop a coordinated and ongoing advertising campaign. Establishment of the region as a premier bicycle tourism area requires name and region recognition. Non-traditional partners in tourism planning (e.g., bicyclists, bicycle shops, bicycle clubs, local highway departments) need to play a role in planning the campaign due to their familiarity with the targeted market.

Activities for the next three years from this cooperative and on-going promotional effort include the following:

Local and regional tourism organizations need to pool resources in enabling a vision for an Adirondack North Country Region Traveler Information System. The Bicycle Master Plan lays out a logical path for continuing the development of a GIS-based traveler information system. The actual accomplishment of the goal will require the commitment to a vision of the future that is not here now, but with persistence will happen. This GIS system also makes sound economic sense for many other regional economic development activities as well. The initial effort can focus on adding the locations of all tourism facilities of interest, building on the bicycle facilities database established for this project. Issues of maintaining, up-dating, and distributing the information all need to be addressed.

Local banks and other lending institutions need to support and encourage further development of bicycle shops and bicycle rental services throughout the region, especially along the Scenic Byways. In addition, lending policies need to recognize and accommodate the seasonal nature of bicycle businesses. There are presently economic opportunities for additional bicycle shops and bicycle touring companies in the region. Lenders can encourage bicycle business establishment by local residents, and the expansion by existing bicycle businesses, through innovative lending programs that result in local job creation that strengthen local economies.

There is need for more cooperative business ventures among bicycle shops, lodging owners, and guide services. Cooperative efforts make sense because they provide an additional margin of profit to small businesses that are limited by the seasonal nature of bicycling in the North Country. Cooperative efforts also serve to strengthen the competitive edge of local businesses over outside businesses that temporarily set up shop in the region. There are currently bicycle shops in the region that have bicycle sale and rental agreements with lodging establishments, who then offer bicycles for use by their guests. There appears to be economic opportunity for many more such cooperative ventures. Tour group leaders and bicycle shop owners need to work with lodging owners to offer bicycle vacation packages that fit with the lodgings' current occupancy rates. Vacation recreation packages are very popular with the active visitor who wants to have a full vacation experience in a short time period.

Additional recommendations are organized in the Bicycle Master Plan under the following categories:

There is a vital interest in bicycle tourism in the Adirondack North Country Region among both the lodging industry and active bicyclists. Based on the findings of research carried out during this planning effort, a major conclusion focuses on using the Scenic Byway routes to promote the region as a premier bicycle tourism destination. Successful establishment of the region's bicycle reputation will require a new collaborative and cooperative effort that departs somewhat from the region's usual tourism promotion participants and techniques. Targeted marketing is key, and those who know the market (e.g., bicycle shop owners, bicycle clubs) need to consulted. Products attractive to the bicycle market, such as bicycle maps and bicycle events, need to be developed and promoted. Finally, new partnerships need to be formed to support tourism planning and promotion, including local highway departments, New York State agencies, planning organizations, ANCA, and the tourism industry.

The size of the region, its predominantly rural nature, and its diversity all point to the importance of a regional planning effort. No area within the region is able to effectively promote to a single segment of the tourism market, such as bicyclists. More importantly, individual areas limit themselves if they create bicycle routes in a vacuum; almost all bicycle routes will arrive, and lead, to somewhere else. Therefore, a regional planning effort for bicycling is the most effective means for developing facilities that will appeal to the widest range of bicyclists, and for developing bicycle promotion materials for the region.

In 1994, bicycling and walking to work, school, and shopping are much less common than driving by automobile. Because of habit and convenience, most residents and travelers are more likely to hop in the car, even for those short trips of a few miles or less. Another factor -- safety -- also plays a role in our decision not to walk or ride a bike. Many of the recommendations in the Bicycle Master Plan for the Adirondack North Country Region of New York focus on the potential for building on the Scenic Byway routes to make all the region's communities bicycle friendly. By making bicycle friendly improvements to the major Byway routes, and routes linking into the Byways within communities, bicycling and walking will become desirable, safe, and habit-forming alternatives to driving the car. A major conclusion is that communities can begin today to make easy and inexpensive bicycle friendly improvements that will significantly improve the quality of life of their residents.

The recommendations of this report are aimed at the next three year period: 1995 through 1997. This represents the remaining funding period in the six year ISTEA legislation that introduced a new set of goals and a new approach to decision making for federal, state, and local transportation agencies. Over the next three years it is hoped that bicycle and pedestrian participation, planning, programs, and facilities will evolve to such a degree that the region will be ready to tackle a new set of recommendations for improved bicycling, walking, and public transportation in the North Country. It is expected that there will be greater inter-county, inter-state, and Canada - U.S. cooperation in bicycle route planning along the Scenic Byways. A local bicycle/pedestrian advisory committee will actively work with local highway departments to maintain and improve the region's paved tourism infrastructure. The Scenic Byways will be used to successfully promote the region as a bicycling destination, and will provide a foundation for the other recommendations in this plan. The Bicycle Master Plan is a planning document and a resource book for anyone interested in increasing the participation in bicycling and walking in the Adirondack North Country Region.

Timothy P. Holmes brought together a team of qualified researchers for the successful completion of both the study plan document and the GIS database and preliminary bicycle route maps. Members of the study team were as follows:

For more information about the Bicycle Master Plan call the Adirondack North Country Association office at 518-891-6200, or write to: 183 Broadway, Saranac Lake, New York 12983.