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 […]

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is leading a national study to better understand the barriers to trail use with a particular focus on race and gender. Our research is built upon regional and national survey instruments developed and implemented over the past 18 months, with a goal of better understanding how the trails movement can support efforts to bring more […]

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 […]

Join trail professionals from around the United States for an in-depth discussion around data collection along trails. Panelists share how they have developed trail traffic monitoring programs, on the local, regional and national level, as well as how they are collecting more detailed information about who is using their trails. The discussion includes a focus […]

Signage is an important feature of any trail, helping inform trail users where they are and where they are going, ensuring their safety, and pointing out amenities and landmarks to make the experience more enjoyable. For trail networks, signage takes on added importance, unifying individual trails under a common brand and elevating their visibility as […]

Signage is an important feature of any trail, helping inform trail users where they are and where they are going, ensuring their safety, and pointing out amenities and landmarks to make the experience more enjoyable. For trail networks, signage takes on added importance, unifying individual trails under a common brand and elevating their visibility as […]

There aren’t cash registers on your trail. If you want ridership to boost your local economy, you have to tap your town into that opportunity—actively. The Progress Fund’s Trail Town Program was the first to formalize this approach, and has successfully grown the economic impact of the Great Allegheny Passage for 10+ years. View this […]

Presenters from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy review the poll findings, explain the messages that resonated with voters, and share resources for using this information with important decision makers to advocate for funding of active transportation. ‣ Download a PDF of this presentation →