Skip to main content
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Access Membership Info DONATE RENEW
  • Meet RTC
    • About
    • Equity
    • Staff
    • Board
    • Press
    • Finances
    • Careers
    • Contact
  • Our Work
    • Great American Rail-Trail
    • TrailNation
    • Funding for Trails
    • Trail Development
    • Advocating For Trails
    • Applied Research
    • Protect Trails
    • Grants
  • Experience Trails
    • Trail Blog
    • Trail Moments
    • Celebrate Trails Day
    • Hall of Fame Trails
    • Rail-Trail Champions
    • Rails to Trails Magazine
    • Share the Trail
    • Trail Use Tips
    • Find Trails with TrailLink
  • Find Trails
  • Resources
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Resource Library
    • Trail-Building Toolbox
    • Webinars
    • State Policy Hub
    • TrADE (Transportation Alternatives) Data
    • Partnership For Active Transportation
    • Trail Stats by State
  • Store
  • Ways To Give
    • Donate
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Trailblazer Society
    • More Ways to Give
http://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/?author=Keith+Laughlin
  • Home
  • Trailblog
  • Keith Laughlin

Posts by Keith Laughlin

Keith on the Route of the Badger in Wisconsin | Photo by Ben Carter, courtesy RTC

Embracing Change

Posted 12/21/18 by Keith Laughlin in America's Trails | Tagged with History Happened Here, RTC in Action

As I reflect on my tenure and how our work has evolved since that day in 2001, I’m proud of RTC’s position at the forefront of the active transportation movement. We have grown significantly in the past two decades, seizing new opportunities to first build rail-trails and now to maximize those trails by connecting them with each other. Today, we have powerful initiatives underway designed to catalyze the development of trail networks nationwide.

The Ronald Kirk pedestrian bridge (left) and the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over the Trinity Skyline Trail, Dallas, Texas

New Year—New Visions: The Age of Connectivity

Posted 12/22/17 by Keith Laughlin in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Design Strategies, Encouraging Trail Use, Featured Magazine Articles, History Happened Here, Mapping and Technology, Trail Communities, TrailNation, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

A new era is upon us—one we’re calling the Age of Connectivity, both for its genesis in technology and its potential to reconnect people and places. This is a time when trails—our communities’ greatest connectors—will work hand in hand with innovation.

A look back at RTC President Keith Laughlin's resolution to walk 2,000 miles in 2016 | Photo by Brittni Geibel

How I Walked 2,000 Miles in 2016

Posted 12/29/16 by Keith Laughlin in Health and Wellness, Success Stories | Tagged with Health and Active Living, How-to, Trail Use Tips

Last December, I made an ambitious New Year’s resolution: In 2016 I would walk 2,000 miles on an “imaginary trail.” I made this resolution publicly with trepidation, knowing that there were numerous reasons that could cause me to humiliate myself by failing to walk an average of 5.5 miles a day, seven days a week for an entire year. But there was no reason for all that angst. I’m proud to report that I beat my goal and will finish the year with about 2,200 miles logged on my Fitbit. And you know what? It really wasn’t that hard. Here's how I did it.

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Milo Bateman

How Will Trails Change the Course of America by 2036?

Posted 09/16/16 by Keith Laughlin in Health and Wellness, Taking Action | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Mode Shift, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Imagine that we are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2036. What do we want the world to look like? How will our lives be different? And—perhaps more importantly—what do we need to achieve over the next 20 years to make this vision a reality?

Heritage Rail-Trail County Park in York, Pennsylvania, inducted into RTC's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2015 | Photo by Carl Knoch

Oh, How Far We’ve Come: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Celebrates 30 Years

Posted 01/12/16 by Keith Laughlin in Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Recreational Trails Program, RTC in Action

When Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) opened its doors in 1986, we were aware of 250 miles of open rail-trail in America. Today, there are more than 21,000 miles enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans every year. As RTC celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2016, President Keith Laughlin takes time to ponder the success of the rail-trail movement by providing us with a quick glimpse back and future-forward look at its evolution.

RTC President Keith Laughlin in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Brian Gerhardstein

Why I Plan to Walk 2,000 Miles in 2016

Posted 12/31/15 by Keith Laughlin in Health and Wellness | Tagged with Health and Active Living, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Learn why RTC President Keith Laughlin is resolved to walk a couple thousand miles in 2016, and find out how you can join Laughlin with your own walking goal in the new year.

Photo © Missouri Rock Island Trail Inc.

Missouri Rail-Trail Just Got One Giant Step Closer

Posted 10/01/14 by Keith Laughlin in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Local Organizing, Missouri, Rock Island, RTC in Action

The Missouri Central Railroad Company yesterday announced its intention to undertake the necessary steps to have the corridor “railbanked,” and to work with the State of Missouri to have it preserved for trail development.

Photo © Spanish Dilatante

Opportunity Knocks in Missouri: RTC Steps In to Save 145-Mile Connection to Katy Trail

Posted 08/04/14 by Keith Laughlin in Taking Action | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Missouri, Rock Island, RTC in Action

On July 28, 2014 the chance to save a 145-mile segment of inactive rail corridor dropped out of the sky. The opportunity to preserve an intact corridor of this length was more common 20 years ago, but rarely happens today.

Foxx Appointment a Key Moment for Trails Advocates

Posted 07/02/13 by Keith Laughlin in Policy | Tagged with Federal

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is watching closely to see what the appointment of Anthony Foxx to the position of U.S. Secretary of Transportation will mean for our efforts to promote a transportation system that includes better options for biking and walking.

What Sequestration May Mean for Trails, Biking and Walking

Posted 03/04/13 by Keith Laughlin in Policy | Tagged with State and Federal Programs, Threats to Trail Building

There has been a lot of news coverage and analysis recently of a federal government sequestration and its potential impacts. At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, our experienced policy and research staff have been mining their sources and sorting through all available information to estimate what impact sequestration could have on our movement for better trails, biking and walking.

New Faces at RTC Lend New Perspective in Changing Times

Posted 02/20/13 by Keith Laughlin in Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, RTC in Action

Never an organization to rest on its laurels, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is always looking to bring new energy and ideas to the work we do - to reinvigorate our mission and keep it relevant in a changing world. One of the ways we do that is by keeping our volunteer Board of Directors fresh, injecting the skills and perspectives of new people on a regular basis and broadening the professions, regions and backgrounds we tap into.

 Subscribe via RSS

Blog Categories

  • Taking Action
  • Building Trails
  • Policy
  • Trail Use
  • Success Stories
  • America's Trails
  • Health and Wellness

Most Popular

1. Seven Sensational New Rail-Trails to Celebrate in 2022 (12/21/22)


2. Reflecting on 2022: Capturing Once-in-a-Generation Opportunities for Trails, Walking and Biking (12/08/22)


3. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Awards $300,000+ to Support Inclusive Trail Projects Across the Nation (11/14/22)


4. Trail Moments | Fulfilling a Lifelong Dream on the Great American Rail-Trail (11/03/22)

Support the trails you love and donate
Subscribe


Sign up for eNews to get monthly updates on trail news, events and success stories from across the country.

SIGN UP FOR ENEWS

Rails to Trails Magazine

Subscribe to the RTC Magazine
Subscribe Today

Shop RTC's Trail Store

RTC Trail Shop

Explore Hall of Fame trails!

Rail-Trail Hall of Fame

Guidebook Series

Plan your next trail adventure right from home! Get your choice of one of our 13 guidebooks with your support for the trails you love!

ORDER GUIDEBOOK

Find Trails Using TrailLink

Join the Movement

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

National Headquarters:
2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202.331.9696

  • Email
  • Contact Field Offices

Get Social With Us

Great American Rail-Trail
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's TrailNation
TrailLink by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
  • Access Membership Info
  • Log in
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Security
  • Join eNEWS
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2001-2020 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC). All rights reserved.