CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) -- A potential multi-use trail, connecting Corning to Elmira, is in the works. Three Rivers Development Corporation wants all hands-on deck for the future of the Chemung River Greenway.  

President of the organization, Kamala Keeley, said the public’s input will help create opportunities for outdoor assets to the trail, improve safety, and enhance the overall quality of life in the region.  

“We want to make sure they’re aware of the trail and what the intention is behind it,” she said. “Because...we desperately want their feedback to make sure we’re serving their needs by creating this sort of passageway between the two cities.”  

Keeley said there has been talk about connecting the two cities with a trail for years. Now, she said the plan is to get the Chemung River Greenway out of the idea phase and into the feasibility study phase to see if what the community wants out of the multi-use trail can become a reality.  

“Not only does it create transportation...a different kind of transportation between the two cities...but you have these kinds of recreational assets,” she said. “It helps to build small-scale economic development along it. It also helps to increase the value of the neighborhoods that are near it.” 

Keeley said it is also about giving people in Chemung and Steuben Counties another way to get from place to place, specifically between the I-85 corridor and the Chemung River Valley.  

“You see a lot of people biking that route and they’re doing it for work or for other purposes,” she said. “Seeing those kinds of natural transportation pathways that people have already created...and looking at ways to make them safer, more accessible, and having the community more aware that they exist.” 

The first Open House-style workshop for the proposed trail will take place on Wednesday, March 20th from 6 to 8:00 p.m. The event will be at the Big Flats Community Center, located at 476 Maple Street in Big Flats.