Posts by Amy Kapp Page 5

Left to Right: Senators Sean O’Brien and Steve Wilson | Photo by Brian Housh

Ohio Senators Steve Wilson and Sean O’Brien on Creating a Statewide Trail System

Posted 05/11/18 by Amy Kapp in Policy, America's Trails | Tagged with IHTC, Ohio, State and Federal Programs, Trail Communities, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

In Spring 2017, Ohio launched the Ohio Legislative Trails Caucus, a bipartisan group of state-elected officials committed to connecting Ohioans via a statewide trails network. RTC recently chatted with Sens. Wilson and O’Brien about their passion for walking and biking, their goals for the caucus and their vision to improve the quality of life for all citizens.

2017 Opening Day for Trails on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Photo by Amy Kapp

Useful Biking Gear for Trails—Plus a Few MacGyver Tips!

Posted 03/30/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Biking, CelebrateTrailsDay, Encouraging Trail Use, Gear, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, How-to, Mapping and Technology, Sojourn Series, Trail Etiquette, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

To prepare for Opening Day for Trails, I asked my colleagues at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, some of America’s most experienced trail riders, what equipment they’ve found super useful.

Pedaler’s Palate at SXSW: Four Cyclists Dish on Food, Cycling and the Real Foods Movement

Posted 03/20/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, How-to, SXSW, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

I love food (I have designed entire vacations after cuisine), and I was very excited to attend the panel, Pedaler’s Palate: Food, Cycling + How They Collide, at SXSW 2018 in Austin—which was moderated by Kate Powlison of Sram, and presented by chef and former Ironman and TEAM USA Triathlon athlete Lentine Alexis, writer/author Tom Vanderbilt (“You May Also Like: Taste in Age of Endless Choice,” Wired, Outside); and former professional cyclist Ted King of UnTapped.

RTC's Amy Kapp interviews Jeff Risom from Gehl at 2018 SXSW

Jeff Risom: Creating "Platforms for Yes" to Spur Mobility in Cities of the Future

Posted 03/16/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Design Strategies, Encouraging Trail Use, Equity, Health and Active Living, Mapping and Technology, Mode Shift, SXSW, Trail Communities, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Rails to Trails was at the SXSW Cities Summit this week, exploring the role of trails in the cities of the future. I sat down with Jeff Risom, partner and managing director U.S. of Gehl—a cutting-edge, international design firm that focuses on the intersection of quality of life and the built environment. Jeff talked about innovative solutions to making cities more equitable with regard to mobility and transportation. Here’s what he had to say—thanks Jeff!

Mario Brown from the Center for Health Equity at the University of Pittsburgh and Adventure Cycling member George Thomas in front of Bertie Hall, along the Niagara River Recreation Trail in Ontario, Canada, during the 2007 inaugural tour of the Underground Railroad Bicycling Route | Photo by C. Spratling, courtesy Adventure Cycling Association

Five Rail-Trails Along the Underground Railroad

Posted 02/15/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Canada, Connected Systems, Facts and FIgures, History Happened Here, New York, Ohio, Trail Businesses

Spanning more than 2,007 miles between Alabama and Canada, the Underground Railroad (UGRR) Bicycle Route, memorializes the network that helped slaves escape to freedom before and during the Civil War.

Trail Geek Terminology (A Cheat-Sheet to Satisfy Your Inner Wonk)

Posted 01/29/18 by Amy Kapp in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Design Strategies, Facts and FIgures, Federal, Government Agencies, History Happened Here, Legal Issues, Mode Shift, Recreational Trails Program, TrailsTransform, Transportation Alternatives, Walkability and Bikeability

RTC's put together this little trail-geek cheat sheet so that we can all bone up on our trail and active-transportation policy speak.

The Atlantic Greenway in South Beach is part of Florida’s 225-mile developing Miami LOOP. | Photo by Lee Smith

Bright Horizons: Florida’s Miami LOOP

Posted 01/12/18 by Cindy Barks, Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Bike Commuting, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Ecology and Environment, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Featured Magazine Articles, Florida, Health and Active Living, Miami LOOP, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability

Approximately 54 percent complete to date, the Miami LOOP is a 225-mile trail vision to expand transportation options, make biking and walking safer and more equitable, strengthen the regional economy, reduce the area’s carbon footprint, and improve health and wellness across Miami-Dade County. The Miami LOOP is a project of the Miami-Dade Trail Alliance and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy through its TrailNation™ program. Learn more: railstotrails.org/miami.

San Francisco Bay Trail in California | Photo by Cindy Barks

These Eight TrailNation Trail Networks Are Connecting Millions of Americans

Posted 12/06/17 by Amy Kapp, Laura Stark in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Best Of, California, Capital Trails Coalition, Caracara, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Ecology and Environment, Equity, Facts and FIgures, History Happened Here, IHTC, Maryland, Miami LOOP, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Texas, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Young Champions

In eight diverse areas across the country, through our TrailNation™ program, RTC is investing in projects that demonstrate what’s possible when trails are seamlessly linked together to form complete systems that are well integrated into the communities they serve—providing low-stress, high-quality and environmentally friendly transportation and recreation for all.

Dark Island Trail | Photo courtesy TrailLink/kathleenmamakat

Nebraska Trail Visionaries Named 2017 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions

Posted 12/05/17 by Amy Kapp in Success Stories, Taking Action, Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Champions, Demand for Trails, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Local Organizing, Nebraska, Rail-Trail Champion

Friends. Teammates. Energizer bunnies. And don’t forget tenacious describe RTC’s 2017 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions, Ross Greathouse, 79, and Lynn Lightner, 83, who have spent nearly four decades developing some of Nebraska’s most treasured pathways.

Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail in Tennessee | Photo courtesy SeeMidTN.com | CC by 2.0

13 Great Rail-Trails From Which to View the Aug. 21 Solar Eclipse

Posted 08/15/17 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, Ecology and Environment, Mapping and Technology, Wild and Wonderful

On Aug. 21, Americans will have an opportunity to take in the astral beauty of a total solar eclipse! Thanks to data provided by NASA and the National Park Service, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was able to identify the most ideal course—and best rail-trails—across the nation to view this rare phenomenon. Check out this story map, which highlights 13 rail-trails along the route.

The late Penny F. Garrett on the Virginia Creeper Trail in 2014 | Photo courtesy Penny F. Garrett Sarcoma Foundation

Creeper Trail Ride in Virginia Supports Cancer Research, Honors Legacy

Posted 06/13/17 by Amy Kapp in Health and Wellness, Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Health and Active Living, Virginia

On July 28 and 29, 2017, the Penny F. Garrett Sarcoma Foundation will host the 8th Annual Creeper Trail Ride [and walk] to End Cancer in Damascus, Virginia—with a purpose of raising money for rare cancer research and giving hope to those who are afflicted by the disease.

Jan Gierlach riding in Austin, Texas, near the midpoint of his 2017 Ride For 3 Reasons route between San Diego, California, and St. Augustine, Florida | Photo courtesy Jan Gierlach + Ride for 3 Reasons

Three Reasons 18-Year-Old Jan Gierlach Just Biked 3,300-Miles Across America

Posted 04/28/17 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Best Of, California, Champions, Florida, Health Organizations, Young Champions

Eighteen-year-old Jan Gierlach just spent three months bicycling 3,300 miles solo and raised more than $600,000 for three causes near and dear to his heart.