Campaign launched to name Grand Island trail for Debbie Billoni

By Karen Carr Keefe

Senior Contributing Writer

Mike Billoni wants the Grand Island Linear Bike Path named after his late wife, Debbie. She was an avid bicyclist who worked on developing the path for the Grand Island community.

Billoni, an Island businessman and NFP reporter, said his wife became involved in the town’s master planning process in 2016 during the administration of then-supervisor Nate McMurray. She really threw her heart and soul into helping to shape what is now termed ecotourism, Billoni said.

It was the end goal, not the politics that motivated her, Billoni said. “She loved the bike trails.”

She was chosen as an at-large member of the Long Range Planning Committee, led by Democratic Committee Chair Jim Sharpe, even though she was the treasurer of the town’s Republican Committee.

McMurray and Sharpe “couldn’t believe the vision and the forcefulness of Debbie” as she shared her views on what needed to be done to create trails and paths for recreation,” Billoni said.

Sharpe reacted favorably to the idea of naming the trail after Debbie Billoni when NFP spoke to him on Monday.

“I’m really excited about the possibility … and I think it’s something we should explore,” he said.

Sharpe anticipated that it could take getting through “a maze of government, which has a tendency to slow things down a little bit.” But he said that it’s doable and appropriate.

He said people may remark that it would be nice to have biking trails, but it could end there.

“Sometimes people step up and actually try and really make a difference and make it happen. In this case, I think Debbie is one of those people who has continuously stepped up and been accountable and said, ‘I believe in what we’re trying to do. I believe we should have trails. I believe we should be able to bike safely on Grand Island. What does it take to do that?’ ” Sharpe said.

“Debbie was also one who not just talked about it but did it. I mean, she biked a lot around Grand Island and she biked a lot around the area we’re talking about, Linear Park.”

Sharpe said it’s important to say thank you “to those who put the time in and have now passed away.”

A sign identifies the Linear Bike Path, which Mike Billoni would like to be renamed the Debbie Billoni Trail, after his late wife. (Photo by Mike Billoni)

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Billoni described the rigorous after-work routine that his wife pursued: “What she was most psyched about … she got into boxing, and she would come home from work – she was a finance CFO – and get on her bike, and she’d drive around the entire island.”

That’s a 26-mile ride – daily, Billoni said.

It irked her that trails she loved weren’t even marked so people could find and use them, he noted.

The Linear Bike Path is described by Alltrails.com as “a level, paved bike path running between Bedell Road and the East-West Park Road in Buckhorn Island State Park.”

That bike path is part of a much larger system of trails that make up the Shoreline Trail, a multiuse trail and greenway that will eventually encompass 80 miles along the shores of Lake Erie and the Niagara River in both Erie and Niagara counties, from Brant to Youngstown.

Grand Island could be considered the jewel at the center of this regional link between major waterfront parks.

The West River Shoreline Trail is the best known of the Island’s trails. It connects Beaver Island and Buckhorn state parks.

Big, beautiful signs are proposed and will be unveiled by the Niagara River Greenway Commission for placement near the North and South Grand Island bridges. These signs illustrate the nature paths and trails throughout the Island that can be used in each season.

Billoni wants to see the Debbie Billoni Trail on maps that show a ribbon of paths, trails and greenways connecting the Island’s ecotourism locales.

The Billonis moved from Kenmore when Debbie found a house that she wanted on Grand Island. It needed lots of work, and Debbie acted as general contractor to complete the renovations, Billoni said. She then put nine gardens around the house.

“She just really fell in love with the town, got involved with the town politics, and was treasurer of the Republican Party,” Billoni said. “And she would take a stand. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about ‘How can we make it better for the residents of Grand Island.’ ”

Billoni said that you often see trails named after people, “but there’s never any narrative of who that person is.”

He would only want the bike path named the Debbie Billoni Trail if, on the brochure or website where the trails are mentioned, it told the story of who she was.

“Put a couple of sentences of ‘Who is Debbie Billoni and why the trail is named after her.’ And it’s because of her passion for bike riding on the Island,” he said.

“She could get things accomplished quicker in one day than most people can in a lifetime. She looked good, she worked hard and she got things done. She was a visionary who would come in with solutions before you even (recognized) a problem.

“She wanted to be the head of the town’s ecotourism. She said, ‘There’s no better community for ecotourism than Grand Island.’ ”