Trail Blog by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Florida's Rail-Trail Champion Continues to Give

Posted 10/02/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, Florida, Signage and Amenities

When Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) named Florida's Brian Smith one of the 25 inaugural Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions, it was in recognition of the years of labor and expertise he had given to the creation and expansion of the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, one of Florida's most popular and unique urban pathways.

How To: Attract Trail Traffic to Your Business

Posted 09/27/12 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails | Tagged with How-to

This past summer, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's 2012 Greenway Sojourn along the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal towpath was a great opportunity to talk with local business owners about just how much the trail traffic helps their business, and things they have been able to do to attract more bikers and hikers off the trail and into their stores.

RTC Study of California DOT Reveals Need to Improve Bike/Ped Culture

Posted 09/27/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with California, Design Strategies, State and Federal Programs

How prepared are the planners, designers, engineers and work crews of our state departments of transportation to deliver this active transportation infrastructure? Aware of the critical role of these staff in facilitating walking and biking, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) recently led a study of the California Department of Transportation's (Caltrans) bicycle- and pedestrian-related technical training for its staff.

With Highway Project Opposed, Trail Becomes Transportation Solution in Connecticut

Posted 09/25/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Connecticut, State and Federal Programs

The proposed Norwalk River Valley Trail in southwest Connecticut continues from great idea toward reality, with the completion of a design for a 27-mile, mixed use trail, utilizing both active and disused rail corridors, between Norwalk and Danbury.

Middlesex County, N.J., Converts Unused Land Into Valued Local Asset

Posted 09/24/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Success Stories, Building Trails | Tagged with New Jersey, Statements of Support

The Middlesex Greenway, which runs between Woodbridge, Metuchen and Edison in north-central New Jersey, now forms an important link in the developing East Coast Greenway, an ambitious project to connect nearly 3,000 miles of trails between Canada and Key West, Fla.

Rail-Trail Extension Brings Activity, Attention to Fryeburg, Maine

Posted 09/22/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Maine, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

The people of Fryeburg in southwestern Maine are celebrating. Their New Hampshire neighbors in Conway are envious. What's the source of all the fuss? A new section of the Mountain Division Trail is finished and set to open next week, and already the local residents and business people are anticipating it will build on the successes of the first phase.

Rotary Club Pursues Grand Rail-With-Trail Plan for Cleveland

Posted 09/20/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Ohio, Rail-with-Trail

In Cleveland, Ohio, a local Rotary Club is demonstrating once again the remarkable creative and physical energy of America's volunteers working to improve their local surroundings.

Just Outside Philadelphia, Energy Grows to Recycle Former Rail Line

Posted 09/19/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Pennsylvania, Rail-with-Trail, State and Federal Programs

"Build Our Trail - A Rail Trails Initiative," is advocating for the now unused Fox Chase-Newtown line (right) owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), to be developed into a shared-use trail that would connect to the established Pennypack Trail as well as the proposed Neshaminy Creek Trail.

"Bad News Bears" of Rail-Trails, Good News for Ferry County, Wash.

Posted 09/18/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Washington

Winners of the first-ever Rails-to-Trails Conservancy very unofficial award for Best Trail Organization Tagline: the Ferry County Rail Trail Partners ("The Bad News Bears of Trail Groups").

Mile for Mile, North and South Carolina Grow Rail-Trail Networks

Posted 09/17/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with North Carolina, South Carolina, Statements of Support, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability

A healthy rail-trail rivalry is developing in the Carolinas, with both the Old North State and the Palmetto State taking great strides this month to boost active transportation networks in their growing communities.

In Pa., Neighboring Towns Now Keen for Their Slice of the Saucon Rail Trail

Posted 09/11/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Pennsylvania, Statements of Support, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

Serving a number of small communities in eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh County, the Saucon Rail Trail is very much a work in progress.

'Be A Good Neighbor' - Ohio Trail Group Shares Secrets of Success

Posted 09/06/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Ohio, Overcoming Opposition

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) new report, Community Built - Stories of Volunteers Creating and Caring For Their Trails, shows us how, in the face of adversity, they are still getting it done. If you are an advocate or volunteer for a trail in your area, this report will be a terrific resource, and an inspiration to keep you going when times are tough.

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