Building Trails Page 7

Notice: Upcoming Railroad Abandonment in Thurston County, Wash.

Posted 04/26/16 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Taking Action, Building Trails | Tagged with Abandonment Notices, Corridors and Railbanking, Washington

Photo courtesy Grant Montgomery | CC by 2.0

On or about April 21, 2016, BNSF Railway Company filed for the abandonment of 1.43 miles of track within Belmore in Thurston County, Washington. We are providing this information because it presents an opportunity to develop a real regional asset: a multi-use trail that can accommodate hikers, bikers, equestrians and other appropriate uses.

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Live music was a highlight of Washington, D.C.'s 2016 Opening Day for Trails celebration on Kingman Island | Photo by Milo Bateman

Opening Day 2016 Recap: DC Celebrates Future Northeast Trail Connection

Posted 04/20/16 by Katie Harris in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Community Events, District Of Columbia, Maintenance and Volunteers, Walkability and Bikeability

This year, RTC’s National Office teamed up with Living Classrooms, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and REI to celebrate Opening Day for Trails 2016 on Kingman Island. As a special highlight—WABA led a bike ride on the Anacostia River Trail, which is welcoming in a new 4-mile Kenilworth segment that will have a huge impact on connectivity in the area.

Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, part of the 750-mile Circuit Trails network | Photo by Thom Carroll

The Circuit Trails: 750-Mile Network Has Sparked a Greater Philly Transformation

Posted 04/12/16 by Heather Mistretta in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations

For the past five years, a web of approximately 30 multi-use pathways known as the Circuit Trails has been growing throughout the Greater Philadelphia area, with long-term plans to stretch 750 miles across nine counties. Currently at 300 miles, the Circuit Trails is like no other system in the country—connecting urban, suburban and rural communities in a 2.5-million-acre area. By the time it is complete, which is expected to be in 2040, more than 50 percent of the region’s population will live within a mile of the Circuit Trails. Additionally, the system will connect to the East Coast Greenway, enveloping a 3,000-mile off-road route that spans as far north as Calais, Maine, and as far south as Key West, Florida.

2016 RTC Florida Sojourn riders on the Black Creek Trail in Clay County, Florida | Photo by Mark Battista

Miami-to-Everglades … and Back Again: 2016 Florida Sojourn Recap

Posted 03/31/16 by Mark Battista in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Florida, Miami LOOP, Sojourn Series, Trail Destinations

Like birds winging south for the winter, more than 70 riders flocked to the sunny climate and balmy breeze of southern Florida to bike RTC’s inaugural Florida Sojourn, Feb. 29 to March 3, 2016. Here are some highlights from the four-day, 120-mile bike trek.

Fort Duquesne Bridge and Walkway along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (the hub for the developing 1,450-mile Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition vision). | Photo courtesy Wally Gobetz | CC by 2.0

1,450-Mile Developing Trail Network to Revitalize America’s Industrial Heartland

Posted 03/29/16 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, IHTC, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia

The Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition envisions a 1,450-mile system of off-road trails that will connect many of the major centers of America’s Rust Belt and industrial Appalachia. The trail network will span 48 counties across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York. Here's more about this ambitious project.

Artist Lorraine Vullo's labyrinth memorial at the Historic Homestead Pump House in Pennsylvania | Photo courtesy Kordite | CC by 2.0

10 Amazing Things on the 2016 Pennsylvania Sojourn

Posted 03/16/16 by Maureen Hannan in Building Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Biking, Encouraging Trail Use, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

RTC’s 2016 Pennsylvania Rail-Trail Sojourn will be a breathtaking 110-mile bike trip westward along the historic Great Allegheny Passage. Celebrate Mother’s Day weekend with a three-day bike ride through scenic woods and rushing waterfalls, lofty trestles and surreal tunnels, wide rivers and old coal towns! It's going to be amazing.

Glacial Drumlin State Trail in Wisconsin | Photo courtesy Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin | CC by 2.0

Meet the Badger: 500-Mile Trail Network Takes Hold in Southeast Wisconsin

Posted 03/03/16 by Amy Kapp in Building Trails | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Route of the Badger, Tourism and Economic Development, Trail Destinations, Wisconsin

In October 2014, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) formally launched an initiative in Southeast Wisconsin that could have an enormous transformative effect on the region and America’s rail-trail future. The goal of the project, appropriately dubbed the Route of the Badger, is to connect completed trails in seven counties—Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha—into a world-class destination trail system.

Napa Valley Vine Trail | Photo courtesy Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition

The Verdict Is In: California Approves $133 Million for Trails

Posted 02/26/16 by Laura Cohen in Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with BATC, California, Funding, State and Federal Programs, Walkability and Bikeability

It was another great year for trails in California’s Active Transportation Program (ATP), the largest funding source for biking, walking and trails in the state. RTC recently learned that the California Transportation Commission has approved $133 million for 59 trail projects and separated bikeways in Cycle 2 of ATP.

Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, the Circuit Trails, Philadelphia | Photo courtesy Montgomery County Planning Commission

10 Reasons the Circuit Trails Are Remarkable

Posted 02/11/16 by Katie Harris in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Disparities and Underserved Communities, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Walkability and Bikeability

The Philadelphia region is home to one of the country’s largest trail networks, a visionary model that, when complete, will incorporate 750 miles of connected trails leading through urban landscapes and rural countryside. The system is called the Circuit Trails, and the network will be accessible to all residents and visitors, regardless of age, income or experience level.

Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia | Photo courtesy Mark Willard | CC by 2.0

Forty-Years-Unused Rail Line Could Mean Huge Connections for New Jersey

Posted 02/11/16 by Liz Sewell in Building Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Disparities and Underserved Communities, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Trail Communities

If transformed into a trail, a disused rail segment in Pennsauken, New Jersey, near Merchantville, could help link underserved communities to amenities in New Jersey, Philadelphia and beyond. Read about this in-progress initiative.

San Francisco Bay Trail | Photo courtesy Tony Webster | CC by 2.0

Uniting the Bay: Trails Are Creating Healthy Communities in California

Posted 02/04/16 by Elizabeth Striano in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with BATC, California, Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration

In 2014, RTC launched the Bay Area Trails Collaborative (BATC) to create a 1,000-mile interconnected system of trails and greenways in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently comprising more than 40 nonprofits, public agencies and private entities—the diverse group is speaking in a unified voice to regional and state planning authorities on behalf of trails.

Ocean City, New Jersey | Photo courtesy Betty Tsang | CC by 2.0

A Look Ahead in the Northeast: Transforming a South Jersey Destination

Posted 01/14/16 by Liz Sewell in Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, New Jersey, RTC in Action, Tourism

As RTC celebrates its 30th year in 2016, we’re taking time to reflect on what’s been accomplished in the trail world and take a future-forward look at the work being done by our teams across the country. Learn what’s in store for RTC’s work in South Jersey, which includes helping to close gaps in two trails systems with the potential to impact tourism in the region and make new, safe connections for walkers and bikers.