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.

During the fall of 2000, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy identified open trail tunnels across the United States, and conducted an extensive survey of the managers of these tunnels. This report presents information about the experiences of 78 tunnels on 36 trails in the United States open only to non-motorized traffic. It covers many aspects of these tunnels, […]

This report outlines the general legal issues associated with trails, including the risks and responsibilities of various constituencies. The intent is to provide trail advocates, adjacent landowners and trail managers with a background on liability issues to prepare them to pose appropriate questions to their legal counsel when developing a trail or when an accident occurs. This report concludes that trail-related […]

As tools for conservation, trails and greenways preserve important natural landscapes, provide needed links between fragmented habitats and offer tremendous opportunities for protecting plant and animal species. Partially due to expansive development, “islands” of habitat dot the landscape, isolating wildlife and plant species and reducing habitat necessary for their survival. Trails and greenways provide important […]

Secrets of Successful Rail-Trails will help overcome any obstacles that arise during your conversion process. By reading this book, you will learn the three fundamental “secrets”: building a solid, broad-based citizen coalition; forming a strong partnership with a government agency; and developing a written plan of action. These are the key ingredients to any successful rail-trail.