In an effort to conserve rail corridors while still allowing rail carriers to discontinue use on unprofitable lines, the U.S. Congress included a unique and prescient provision within the National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983. The Rails to Trails Act allowed the federal government to regulate the disposition of soon-to-be abandoned railroad lines to preserve the right-of-way in case the need for […]

Trails and greenways create opportunities for people of all ages to bicycle, walk, hike and jog. Across the country, trails and greenways are stimulating tourism and recreation spending, and in many rural communities they are seen as a catalyst for economic growth. In providing attractive, safe, accessible, and low- or no-cost places, they also make it easier for people to […]

This checklist for starting your trail project will help you gather information to create a vision for your trail or greenway project. The questions help you identify what type of trail you can create and how you can build support for it.

The need for this report arose from a discussion between CSX Railroad and the City of Philadelphia over safety and liability concerns regarding street-level access to the Schuylkill River Park Trail in Philadelphia.This paper reviews surveys performed by RTC and the U.S. Department of Transportation which found no crashes between trains and trail users on […]

The purpose of this manual is to help you implement a trail user survey and determine the economic impact that your trail has on your community. Four sample survey forms are included in the appendix of this manual.

Trails and greenways create health and wellness benefits for people of all ages with attractive, safe, accessible places to bike, walk, hike, jog, skate or ski. In doing so, they make it easier for people to engage in physical activity. With more health-focused initiatives in progress and more trails on the ground than ever before, the evidence is beginning to accumulate […]

This report serves as a national resource guide to assist communities in utilizing new and existing brownfield programs to understand and address environmental clean-up issues that may inhibit the conversion of unused rail rights-of-way (ROW) into multi-use trails. RTC’s objective was to address brownfield concerns by researching appropriate legal, funding and construction issues related to […]

The Florida Power and Light Greenway Assessment is an initiative of the Collier County Traffic Operations and Alternative Transportation Modes Department in partnership with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC). This team was further supported by the firms of Borrelli and Associates and Vanassee Hangen Brustlin, Inc., which each provided pro-bono services to further advance this project. The […]

This fact sheet examines the value of trails and greenways. Despite different methodologies of different studies, there is growing evidence of such facilities’ value in terms of increased property values, community assets, and a host of environmental and economic benefits.