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Rail-Trail State Policy 2019: Here’s What’s Happening Right now

Posted 08/29/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Funding, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation

The Empire State Trail in New York City | Photo by Scott Stark

This year, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s state policy arm focused on strategies aimed at building financial support for trails, walking and bicycling over the long term, including the creation of advocacy infrastructure that should pay dividends for active transportation for years to come. Here’s a brief snapshot of where we are right now.

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Atlantic County Bikeway in New Jersey | Photo Courtesy Atlantic County Parks and Recreation

New Jersey Trail Funding On the Line Despite Serious Need for Safer Bike-Ped Routes

Posted 08/02/19 by Liz Sewell, Sonia Szczesna in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Design Strategies, Funding, Local Organizing, New Jersey, Safety and Law Enforcement, State and Federal Programs, Urban Pathways

Like many states with older transportation infrastructure built on the highway system, New Jersey faces a number of serious challenges related to pedestrian and bicycle safety. Even as the state explores ways to make active transportation safer for citizens, related fatalities are on the rise. This trend illustrates a very real need for the state to rethink its infrastructure and invest in safe routes for people traveling on foot or by bike.

United States Capitol during the national cherry blossom festival in Washington, D.C.

A Senate Committee Just Approved a Transportation Bill for America—Here’s What It Means for Trails

Posted 07/30/19 by Kevin Mills, Patrick Wojahn in Policy | Tagged with Federal, Funding, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, TrailsTransform

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW Committee) passed the bipartisan America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, or ATIA, and is making progress more than a year before the FAST Act expires. This gives us optimism at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) that Congress will be able to come together to invest in a balanced transportation system. But there's still work to be done.

Along the Platte River Trail by the Tate Pumphouse | Photo courtesy of Platte River Trails

Wyoming’s Platte River Trail

Posted 06/07/19 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Funding, Great American Rail-Trail, Health and Active Living, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Wyoming

Ten miles of paved pathway now thread through a handful of beloved parks, rolling out along the water’s edge under a canopy of cottonwoods in Wyoming’s second largest city. A momentary pause on the Platte River Trail might yield a glimpse of a pronghorn antelope or mule deer darting through the underbrush, or an eagle or osprey searching for a meal in the river.

Burlington-Camden Trail: View of 130 Bridge and Chestnut Street through Pennsauken

New Jersey Awards More Than $27 Million for Trails, Walking and Biking Projects Statewide

Posted 05/23/19 by Liz Sewell in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Delaware, Funding, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, TrailNation

New Jersey trails got some great news with an announcement by the Department of Transportation (NJDOT) that more than $27 million has been awarded through the state’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) toward improvements to bicycle and pedestrian safety and connectivity across the state.

New Transportation Bill Could Open Up More Money for Trails Nationwide

Posted 04/12/19 by Kevin Mills in Policy | Tagged with Federal, Funding, State and Federal Programs

Not to be outdone, the Senate is also considering the next big transportation bill—and they heard about the need to build trails and active transportation infrastructure loud and clear. Two recent developments are inching proposals for more and better trail funding closer to reality: First, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) recently supported RTC’s request to fund trail networks and spines; and second, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced a bill on Tuesday (S. 1098) to improve the current federal program for active transportation. What will these proposals mean for trails? Here is RTC’s take on these recent developments.

Skunk Train passing on Willits Rail-Trail | Photo by Laura Cohen

California Invests Big in Trails, Demonstrates Growing Statewide Demand for Walking and Biking Infrastructure

Posted 03/29/19 by Ben Kaufman, Laura Cohen in Policy | Tagged with BATC, California, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Funding, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved more than $280 million in Active Transportation Program (ATP) funding (Cycle 4) to support 59 trail, walking and biking projects throughout the state, with about half—some $139 million—going to trails and separated bikeway projects (hereafter collectively referred to as “trails”). This huge investment in trails comes on the tails of a $1 billion increase in ATP funds over the next decade, announced last year with the approval of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1).

Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Plan biking tour in Brownsville, TX | Photo by Frontera Media

Major Trail Developments, New Potential Funding Streams in the Lone Star State

Posted 03/25/19 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy | Tagged with Disparities and Underserved Communities, Funding, Local Organizing, LowerRioGrande, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Texas, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform

With the Texas Legislature currently in its every-other-year session, RTC and the Texas Coalition for State Parks are actively supporting legislation to ensure that an existing sporting goods tax originally intended for parks and recreational space—including trails—actually goes to parks (and trails).

A two-way cycle track in the median of Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. - Photo by Elvert Barnes courtesy pedbikeimages.org

Trail Networks and Spines: Key Components As Congress Discusses America’s Mobility Future

Posted 03/14/19 by Kevin Mills, Leeann Sinpatanasakul in Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Federal, Partnership for Active Transportation, TrailsTransform

As Congress considers how it can meet the transportation needs of 21st-century America, RTC encourages them to consider the positive impacts active transportation can have on communities and how connected trail networks and spines are a significant part of the answer.

Baltimore, MD | Photo by Side A Photography

Maryland Communities Are Hungry for Trails—and the Maryland General Assembly Can Help

Posted 02/27/19 by Patrick Wojahn in Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, Great American Rail-Trail, Local Organizing, Maryland, State and Federal Programs, TrailNation

With several landmark trail networks in progress, the State of Maryland is poised to serve as a nationwide example for other states. Marylanders are increasingly recognizing the benefits of trails for health, transportation and economic development. And many communities in the “Old Line State”—whether in the I-95 corridor’s suburban and urban areas, the fields of the Eastern Shore or the mountainous Western panhandle—are developing trail master plans and investing in trail networks.

With a population of 1.5 million in Manhattan alone, New York has plenty of people willing to brave a cold and gusty winter day on the Hudson River Valley Greenway. | Photo by Scott Stark

State of the States: Here’s What’s on the Policy Horizon in 2019

Posted 02/07/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, IHTC, Indiana, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Route of the Badger, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Wisconsin

Now, as 2019 gets underway, RTC’s state policy team has its antenna up for new opportunities to fund trails at the state level—and continue to build momentum for trail building nationwide. Below is a summary on the state of the states for trails, walking and biking.

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

Protecting Trails in 2018: Five Ways We Mobilized in Communities This Year

Posted 11/15/18 by Amy Kapp, Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Building Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Best Of, Case Studies, Community Events, Corridors and Railbanking, Demand for Trails, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, IHTC, Legal Issues, Local Organizing, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Washington, Wisconsin

All across the country—from the great redwoods of California, to the trestles of Missouri, to the stream valleys and neighborhoods of Baltimore, Maryland—Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and the national trail community put itself on the front lines to protect and defend trails in 2018. Here are five ways we mobilized in communities this year.

Flint Hills Trail State Park | Photo courtesy Kansas Tourism

Kansas’ Flint Hills Trail State Park

Posted 11/13/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Demand for Trails, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Kansas, Local Organizing, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Walkability and Bikeability

Nestled into the gentle greens and golds of a vast prairie, rolling under leafy branches arched overhead like cathedral rooftops, and connecting small towns with friendly Midwestern charm, the Flint Hills Trail State Park proves there’s no place like Kansas.

Sharp and Stockholm Streets rendering | Courtesy Toole Design Group

Baltimore Greenway Trails Network Lands $250,000 Federal Grant to Close Key Trail Gap

Posted 10/04/18 by Jim Brown, Avery Harmon in America's Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, Design Strategies, Federal, Funding, Maryland, Trail Communities, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Urban Pathways

The Maryland Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that a total of more than $17 million will go toward improvements to bicycle and pedestrian safety and connectivity across the state. This is great news for Maryland and for Baltimore’s trail vision. Included in the announcement was a $250,000 grant awarded to the City of Baltimore DOT to support the development of a key segment of the Baltimore Greenway Trails Network, located along the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River between the Gwynns Falls Trail and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor!

2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions Award ceremony | Photo by Hung Tran

Central Author of Historic Trail Legislation Named 2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion

Posted 09/27/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Demand for Trails, Federal, History Happened Here, Rail-Trail Champion

One of the most important moments in the history of the rail-trail movement happened behind the scenes, with little fanfare or notice, when National Park Service (NPS) staffer Peter Raynor drafted an invaluable piece of legislation in just a few words.

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