A proposed bike trail in the Town of Pendleton is striking controversy. Plans are in the works to transform an old railroad track near Killian Road into a biking and hiking path. However, many people are concerned about a shooting range being near the path.
“I think i’ll be more concerned if one of them shot. I hate to get killed or anything,” Barb Ciepiela said.
Tonawandas Sportsmen’s Club is the owner of the gun range property and is against the old railroad becoming a bike path. The path would run directly through range property. Much of the land on both sides is used for hunting.
“For a mile length of that bike path we are hunting on both sides of within 20 to 30 feet of where your wife is pushing your baby in a stroller. I don’t think that sounds like a safe place for your family,” Tonawandas Sportsmen’s Club President, David Motaro said.
Motaro said the town has four options for this path. He doesn’t understand why they are picking the one that could cause someone to get shot.
“Most of our members of the club think the town should build a bike path, just not in that location,” Motaro said.
Supporters of the trail say it’s the missing link for bikers to ride from Tonawanda to Lockport and connect to the path to Albany, New York.
The town is now awaiting approval by the Department of Transportation for the project. 7 Eyewitness News has reached out to every single town council-member and the town supervisor for comment. So far, we have not heard back from them.
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