Placid-Cornell trail map project stalls
LAKE PLACID – Cornell University students’ work on a local trail map has been delayed to at least next fall semester, Lake Placid/North Elba Community Development Commission chair Dean Dietrich said Tuesday.
This was the second consecutive spring semester where Cornell students were working on creating user-friendly consumer maps that simplify classification and description of the area’s many walking and hiking trails. But progress was delayed this semester, and Dietrich said he has been in contact with Cornell about working with a different group on the project in the future.
“I emailed Cornell about maybe working with an alternative group, and we are still looking for an alternative,” he said.
This semester’s work on the project was the second of capstone research by a group of Cornell students led by Devin Martin, but the students will not be on campus next year, Dietrich said.
The concept behind the trail project was to make it easier for visitors to find trails with the level of difficulty and characteristics they are looking for, and it was originally planned to be completed by May.
In January, Dietrich added that the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism was keeping a “close eye” on the project. He also added at the time that how the trail system technology and programming would be distributed to consumers was open ended, with the possibility of printed maps, an electronic kiosk at the village’s main parking lot and access for consumers on mobile devices. He also mentioned the possibility of hosting the program on the Community Development Commission’s www.futurelakeplacid.com website, or other websites such as ROOST’s.
Overall, the project has a close connection to ROOST, as ROOST hosts the www.futurelakeplacid.com site.