BRUTUS - State officials and developers were challenged by area residents Thursday as to how multi-use the proposed Erie Canalway Trail connecting Jordan and Port Byron should be.

About 20 residents questioned everything from ATV use to bicyclist safety along major highways at a meeting to review plans for the 8-mile stretch of trail.

Currently, plans include opening the path to pedestrians, bicyclists, horses and snowmobiles. Sean Boyle, president of the All-County ATV Club, said that discouraging ATV use on the trails could encourage "renegade" riders.

"It's in the best interest of each community to provide a trail for ATVers or they will provide a trail for themselves where you don't want it," he said.

ATV riders could provide much-needed labor to maintain the trails after they are built, Boyle said. Snowmobilers provide similar services for trails in other parts of Cayuga County.

"You've got the money to make them, but not sustain them," he said.

The statewide Canalway project is envisioned as about 500 miles of trail following as much of the original path of the Erie Canal as possible; about 260 miles have already been completed.

The project is part of a $35 million program announced by Gov. George Pataki to complete the Erie Canalway Trail linking the Hudson River and Lake Erie.

"It's one of the most ambitious projects of its kind now," said John DiMura, senior project development specialist with the New York state Canal Corporation.

In 2005, eight projects were under construction or near completion. The Port Byron to Jordan trail is scheduled for construction next year.

Part of that construction will require rebuilding two bridges: Cold Spring Brook Aqueduct and one over Putnam Brook. They need to be widened to meet the 10-foot width requirement to safely accommodate two-way travel along the trail.

Kiosks will guide travelers while giving them a sense of the location's history. Sites include Lock 51 in Jordan, one in Weedsport near Arby's, one at Centerport Aqueduct Park, and one at Schasel Park.

Much of this stretch of trail will follow pre-existing roads like Route 31 and Towpath Road.

In places where pedestrians will have to cross roads, crosswalks will be painted in.

But some of the audience was still concerned with whether vehicles would notice. Kathy Lawler has lived at the corner of Route 31 and Towpath Road in Weedsport for most of her life and knows how cars speed by.

"I help kids cross at that area near my house," she said. "No matter what we did, they weren't stopping."

Benjamin Manton, program manager with the CNY Regional Planning and Development Board, was also concerned for less-experienced trailgoers who may not be ready to handle riding on a major thoroughfare.

"Young people on bikes tend to respond erratically," he said. "Where you can avoid it, you don't want to mix those situations."

Developers tried to address that concern when forming the plan.

"We looked at options for taking it off-road," said Donald Nims with Wendel Duchscherer Architects and Engineers from Amherst, N.Y. But obtaining easements to include private land on the trail was not feasible.

Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net