Published: April 15, 2008 11:20 am      

ERIE CANAL: Bikes can bring business to canal area

BROCKPORT — Cyclists are flooding the Erie Canal, and local businesses can learn how to profit from them.

The New York State Canal Corp. and Parks & Trails New York are presenting a roundtable discussion for businesses and communities along the canal corridor. The Erie Canalway Trail is a multi-use recreational trail running along the Canal and is geared toward bicycles tourists. The “Bicyclists Bring Business” roundtable is an opportunity for businesses and communities to learn how to promote the trail and use it for financial gain.

“The Erie Canal Corridor has all the right ingredients to become an international bicycle touring destination: a premier off-road trail, peaceful country roads with wide shoulders, picturesque villages, impressive historic sites and museums, charming bed and breakfasts and inns, ample campgrounds, and country stores and farm stands,” said Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York. “Through the roundtable, we want to help businesses and communities along the Canal corridor attract bicyclists and outdoor enthusiasts, and thereby increase their share of economic benefits from the Canalway Trail.”

The roundtable will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 6, at the Seymour Library, 161 East Ave., Brockport. Topics to be covered include: Understanding the demographics and needs of the bicycle tourist; making communities and businesses more bicycle-friendly; developing infrastructure to accommodate bicycles and bicyclists; and marketing to outdoor recreationalists. The program will also include networking time and light refreshments.

A similar meeting was held in Lockport in May 2006.

The route isn’t finished yet, but with more than 260 miles of trail constructed, the Erie Canalway Trail is nearly 75 percent complete. It will eventually encompass more than 348 miles of continuous multi-use trail, connecting Lake Erie and Buffalo to the Hudson River. Even though it isn’t completed, Fran Gotcsik, director of programs and policy for Parks & Trails, said the trail is already busy with cyclists.

At the discussion, businesses will learn to become more “bicycle friendly” and tap into the tourist market opportunity the trail provides. Both the Canal Corp. and Parks & Trails are working on an agreement with the Empire State Bed and Breakfast Association to create a relationship to promote the trail. Putting information online would help draw tourists by allowing them to plan a vacation using the trail.

“It’s a great opportunity to do a mapping of other trails, as well as links to other businesses that are bicycle-friendly,” Gotcsik said.

Parks & Trails believes it is a great opportunity for business. “Studies consistently show that bicycle and other outdoor tourists come from high-income households, typically spend between $100 and $300 per day, and will travel significant distances to regions offering a good mix of cycling, attractions, and services,” according to a Parks & Trails statement. “With new sections of Canalway Trail opening in Amherst and at other locations across the state, more and more cyclists will be choosing to take vacations in Upstate New York.”

Businesses are asked to reserve their spot at the roundtable by sending an RSVP to Parks & Trails New York at B3roundtable@ptny.org or by calling 518-434-1583.

Contact reporter Joe Olenickat (716) 439-9222, ext. 6241.