Webinar – Leveraging Statewide Planning to Advance Trail Development
Many states have made significant investments in trail and active transportation planning to guide and coordinate the development of their trail networks. When actively used, these plans can guide strategic investments, unlock funding opportunities, and foster cross-agency collaboration, turning vision into reality.
In this session, our presenters shared strategies for creating comprehensive plans, building partnerships, and implementing tools to support trail connectivity and active transportation. Key themes included collaboration, funding mechanisms, and maintaining momentum through stakeholder engagement and legislative advocacy.
Panelists
- John Devine, AICP – Executive Director, Go Georgia
- Aviva Klugh, AICP – Strategic Planning Manager, Maryland Department of Transportation
- Jenny Kramer – Active Transportation Manager, Kansas Department of Transportation
Resources
RTC Statewide Trail Planning toolbox page: https://www.railstotrails.org/trail-building-toolbox/statewide-trail-planning-using-statewide-trail-plans-to-leverage-trail-development/
RTC Building Relationships with Public Agencies & Officials toolbox page: https://www.railstotrails.org/trail-building-toolbox/building-relationships-with-public-agencies-and-officials/
John’s Presentation
Go Georgia offers safety curriculum for anyone who bikes, walks, rolls, or drives. You can learn more here: https://www.go-georgia.org/work/safety-education
Find out more about Go Georgia’s Grants Assistance Program (GAP) here: https://www.go-georgia.org/work/grants-assistance-program
You can find Go Georgia on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gogeorgiaorg/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaBikes
Learn more about Georgia’s Rural Statewide Active Transportation Plan: https://www.dot.ga.gov/GDOT/Pages/ATP.aspx and view the factsheet that outlines the project overview and timeline: https://www.dot.ga.gov/InvestSmart/Documents/RuralATP/Rural_ATP_Factsheet.pdf
Aviva’s Presentation
Check out the Maryland State Transportation Trails Strategic Plan here: https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/index.aspx?PageId=215 and explore the interactive website here: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/7b422376455d4b86bbfd43121083b81f/
Check out MDOT’s Maintaining Transportation Trails Toolkit here: https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/OPCP/Appendix_E_Maintaining_Transportation_Trails_Toolkit.pdf
Jenny’s Presentation
You can view the Kansas Active Transportation Plan and additional resources, including the Statewide Economic Impact Analysis Summary and planning toolkits, here: https://www.ksdot.gov/about/our-organization/divisions/multimodal-transportation-and-innovation/kansas-active-transportation/kansas-active-transportation-plan
Find out more about Kansas’s Safe Routes to School Program: https://saferoutes.ksdot.gov/
You can view Pedestrian Safety Lesson #1 here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64ee7eb3adf03f4a24e08751/t/68d6a65a7b879356684f9f8c/1758897754867/Lesson+1+v6+20250925.pdf and the newly released #2 here https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64ee7eb3adf03f4a24e08751/t/6930bae80e679d6d108880c7/1764801256154/Lesson+2+v6+20251202.pdf
You can find KSDOT’s webinars here: https://www.ksdot.gov/about/our-organization/divisions/multimodal-transportation-and-innovation/kansas-active-transportation/walk-bike-roll-kansas-series
RTC’s TrailNation Collaborative, Trail Development and Policy teams produce a free webinar series designed to help trail professionals build, grow, manage, maintain, promote or otherwise support trails and trail networks. Sign up here to get webinar alerts.
Have a comment or question on our webinar series? Contact us below with topic or speaker ideas. We appreciate your feedback! Email us.
Donate
Everyone deserves access to safe ways to walk, bike, and be active outdoors.