Working alongside utility companies across the country, many communities build safe and accessible trails within utility corridors. Some of the most visible examples of these trails span miles under large power lines, but there are many other types of utilities – including water, sewer, natural gas, electric and fiber optic – that also share trail […]

PECO’s right-of-way policies and procedures for secondary uses of the right-of-way, including trails. Author: PECO

Trails provide substantial benefits for people and communities, but an important issue is whether these benefits impact property values and can contribute to gentrification.  RTC’s original research examines the relationship between trails and property values and guidance from experts on how to maintain housing stability and equitable access to trails. To learn more about RTC’s work on Trail Networks and Housing Stability, visit https://www.railstotrails.org/housing/   Our ‘Trail Networks and Housing Stability’ webinar series will convene experts from the fields of housing and community development to discuss the impact […]

Trails provide substantial benefits for people and communities, but an important issue is whether these benefits impact property values and can contribute to gentrification.  RTC’s original research examines the relationship between trails and property values and guidance from experts on how to maintain housing stability and equitable access to trails. To learn more about RTC’s work on Trail Networks and Housing Stability, visit https://www.railstotrails.org/housing/   Our ‘Trail Networks and Housing Stability’ webinar series will convene experts from the fields of housing and community development to discuss the impact […]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL VISION Imagine pedaling across the entire country on a safe, seamless and scenic pathway—or walking a local trail that connects you to historic routes from coast to coast. You’re enthralled in the experience of exploring America’s heritage—its potential, its beauty and bounty, its people and places. Consider the intimacy […]

In recent years, concerns have emerged through location-specific studies about the correlation between trails and gentrification, especially in high-profile urban trail markets with significant housing cost pressures. To better understand the relationship between trail development and housing stability in a wide range of neighborhoods and housing markets, RTC partnered with researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Brookings Institution to study this issue further, and with Johns Hopkins University’s 21st Century Cities […]

The Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s (IHTC’s) 1,500-miles-plus network vision spans 51 counties across Western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, 79 eastern Ohio and the southwestern corner of New York. When complete, the trail network will comprise the largest shared-use trail system in North America for tourism, physical activity and recreation. The plan tocomplete the network is […]

Trails provide people with safe and inexpensive spaces for outdoor physical activity, commuting and recreation. They can serve as economic catalysts, opening up opportunities for neighborhood reinvestment. They also provide critical “social infrastructure”—public spaces where people can meet, interact and build relationships. The key to maximizing these benefits is ensuring every stakeholder in a community […]

In 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published its first Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned report, which summarized the state of the practice and lessons learned regarding the development, construction, and operation of rails-with-trails. This updated Rails-with-Trails: Lessons Learned report documents how the state of the practice, perspectives, and context for rails-with-trails have evolved since 2002 […]

Rails-with-trails (RWTs) – shared-use paths alongside or within active railroad corridors – are being developed in communities across the U.S. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has studied and tracked RWT development since 1996, when 37 RWTs were identified. Today, there are 399 known RWTs in 47 states, with more being planned across the country. In 2013, RTC published […]