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RTC in the Making:
Twenty-three Years and Counting
During the last 23 years Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been hard at work creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines. Here are some of the major events that have contributed to the creation and evolution of RTC and the rail-trail movement.
| October 2, 1968 |
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National Trails System Act signed into law.
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| January 1, 1976 |
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The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (known as the 4R Act) included a little-noticed section setting up a Rails-to-Trails Grant Program. The 4R Act was to provide funding, information exchange and technical assistance in order to preserve the corridor and create trails.
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| February 7, 1986 |
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Rails-to-Trails Conservancy opens its doors.
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| September 8, 1986 |
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Governor John Ashcroft (R-Mo.) files the first railbanking application for the 185-mile Katy Trail, and in June 1987 Missouri legislature votes to convert the corridor.
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| January 1, 1987 |
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Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has 400 members.
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| October 4, 1988 |
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President Ronald Reagan signs the National Trails System Improvement Act of 1988, securing the government's interest in federally granted rights-of-way.
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| December 1, 1988 |
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RTC membership jumps to 7,000.
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| January 1, 1989 |
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The 200th rail-trail opens with the Hart-Montague Bicycle Trail State Park (22.5 miles) in Michigan.
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| February 21, 1990 |
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U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds the constitutionality of railbanking.
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| March 1, 1991 |
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RTC has 40,000 members at its five-year mark.
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| November 3, 1991 |
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Congress enacts ISTEA, the federal law that helps fund rail-trails.
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| December 18, 1991 |
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The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act is signed into law. The Transportation Enhancements (TE) program is introduced in the bill.
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| January 1, 1993 |
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RTC has 547 open rail-trails, totaling 6,757 miles of rail-trail.
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| June 4, 1994 |
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The 600th rail-trail is opened with the Monon Trail in Indiana.
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| January 1, 1995 |
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RTC reaches 66,800 members.
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| March 7, 1996 |
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RTC wins The President's Council on Sustainable Development award for "promoting a community enhancing program that is both economically sound and environmentally friendly" under President Bill Clinton.
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| June 1, 1996 |
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RTC reaches 800 rail-trails and 5,000 open rail-trail miles.
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| September 1, 1997 |
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RTC's Web site is launched. The 900th rail-trail opens with the Raccoon River Trail in Iowa.
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| June 9, 1998 |
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TEA-21, the Federal law that helps fund rail-trails was signed into law.
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| June 9, 1998 |
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ISTEA is reauthorized as the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The bill increases funding for the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program.
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| October 1, 1998 |
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RTC reaches 1,000 rail-trails.
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| October 5, 1998 |
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First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton launches the National Millennium Trails Program, and a partnership with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
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| December 1, 2000 |
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RTC reaches 83,851 members.
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| June 1, 2003 |
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RTC reaches 12,000 miles of rail-trail with the 3.5-mile Middlesex Greenway in New Jersey.
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| September 4, 2003 |
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The U.S. House of Representatives votes (327 to 90) to restore funding to the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program.
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| September 1, 2004 |
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RTC opens its first of four regional offices in Pennsylvania, combining its Pennsylvania and Massachusetts offices, and adding Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont to the region.
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| July 29, 2005 |
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After 12 extensions spanning two years, the new federal surface transportation legislation was passed to reauthorize TEA-21. The new bill is titled SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users).
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| August 10, 2005 |
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SAFETEA-LU was signed into law.
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| October 1, 2005 |
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RTC opens its second regional office in Ohio, adding Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin to its region.
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| January 1, 2006 |
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RTC opens its third regional office in California, adding Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington to the region.
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| June 2007 |
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RTC worked diligently with Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and other supporters to pass legislation protecting TE from disproportionate rescission cuts. As a result, the USDOT is legally required to limit the amount each state can cut from its TE program.
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| July 1, 2007 |
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RTC launches the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. Twenty-five exemplary rail-trails will be named to the Hall of Fame over the course of the next five years, culminating in 2011—RTC's 20th anniversary year.
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| August 8, 2007 |
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Nearly 300 attendees from 40 states and three countries attended RTC's national TrailLink conference in Portland, Ore., August 8–10, where RTC kicked off its "2010 Campaign for Active Transportation."
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| October 20, 2008 |
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RTC presents its ground-breaking "Active Transportation for America" report to Congress. The report quantifies—for the first time—the national benefits of bicycling and walking.
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| May 2009 |
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RTC launches the Urban Pathways Initiative, a three-year program aimed at encouraging healthy opportunities for physical activity in urban communities.
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