New England Rail-Trail Spine Network The New England Rail-Trail Spine Network initiative was launched in March 2019 during a two-day regional meeting on multiuse trail development and policy in New Hampshire. Held at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Cardigan Mountain Lodge in Alexandria, the regional meeting included 12 New England experts on bicycle/pedestrian issues and multipurpose […]

FY 2019 TrADE Report Key findings of our FY 2019 report: Executive Summary The Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA) is the largest dedicated source of funding for trails, walking and biking in the United States. Since 1991, this program, formerly known as Transportation Enhancements (TE), has transformed the landscape of the country. Under the program, states […]

Join trail professionals from around the United States for an in-depth discussion around data collection along trails. Panelists share how they have developed trail traffic monitoring programs, on the local, regional and national level, as well as how they are collecting more detailed information about who is using their trails. The discussion includes a focus […]

Analysis of California’s Active Transportation Program on Trails, Walking and Biking: 2013–2018 By Laura Cohen and Whitney Ericson California’s Active Transportation Program (ATP) was created in 2013 to increase the safety and mobility of active transportation users and increase bicycling and walking mode shares. Originally funded at $123 million per year through the merging of several […]

Executive Summary The small towns and cities between Cleveland and Pittsburgh are home to some of America’s richest industrial heritage and history. Innovations in 19th-century transportation unlocked the region’s potential, delivering new people and new economies, and fueling westward development and a booming industrial market nationwide. As these economies took hold, the “industrial heartland” emerged—from the coal mines of West […]

The most important legal protections available to trails are the Recreational Use Statutes enacted in some form by all 50 states. These statutes typically limit the liability of landowners and managers who invite the public onto their land for recreational uses and do not charge a fee. Where a Recreational Use Statute is applicable, the […]

Discover how trail managers are embracing new solutions to help mitigate the economic, environmental and infrastructural impacts of natural disasters and ensure long-term climate and community resiliency.  This article was originally published in the Winter 2020 issue of Rails to Trails magazine.

Why predict the cost of the network? The Capital Trails Coalition seeks to create an 800-miles-plus world-class network of multiuse trails that are equitably distributed throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. The trail network is a key strategy in an effort to create a healthier, more connected populace. With the third-highest amount of traffic in the nation, […]

More than half of all trips in the United States are within a 20-minute bike ride or less, and more than one in four trips are within a 20-minute walk or less, according to the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. Even so, the majority of these short trips are taken by automobile. Across rural, suburban and […]

Transportation in communities across America is changing with the advent of many small and light personal-mobility options, which typically run on electric motors, such as electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes), e-scooters (scooters) and hoverboards. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) offers this perspective to assist communities, trail managers and policy makers in making decisions about how best to manage these devices […]