Policy

New Transportation Bill Could Open Up More Money for Trails Nationwide

Posted 04/12/19 by Kevin Mills in Policy | Tagged with Federal, Funding, State and Federal Programs

Not to be outdone, the Senate is also considering the next big transportation bill—and they heard about the need to build trails and active transportation infrastructure loud and clear. Two recent developments are inching proposals for more and better trail funding closer to reality: First, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) recently supported RTC’s request to fund trail networks and spines; and second, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced a bill on Tuesday (S. 1098) to improve the current federal program for active transportation. What will these proposals mean for trails? Here is RTC’s take on these recent developments.

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Skunk Train passing on Willits Rail-Trail | Photo by Laura Cohen

California Invests Big in Trails, Demonstrates Growing Statewide Demand for Walking and Biking Infrastructure

Posted 03/29/19 by Ben Kaufman, Laura Cohen in Policy | Tagged with BATC, California, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Funding, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved more than $280 million in Active Transportation Program (ATP) funding (Cycle 4) to support 59 trail, walking and biking projects throughout the state, with about half—some $139 million—going to trails and separated bikeway projects (hereafter collectively referred to as “trails”). This huge investment in trails comes on the tails of a $1 billion increase in ATP funds over the next decade, announced last year with the approval of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1).

Lower Rio Grande Valley Active Plan biking tour in Brownsville, TX | Photo by Frontera Media

Major Trail Developments, New Potential Funding Streams in the Lone Star State

Posted 03/25/19 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy | Tagged with Disparities and Underserved Communities, Funding, Local Organizing, LowerRioGrande, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Texas, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform

With the Texas Legislature currently in its every-other-year session, RTC and the Texas Coalition for State Parks are actively supporting legislation to ensure that an existing sporting goods tax originally intended for parks and recreational space—including trails—actually goes to parks (and trails). 

A two-way cycle track in the median of Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. - Photo by Elvert Barnes courtesy pedbikeimages.org

Trail Networks and Spines: Key Components As Congress Discusses America’s Mobility Future

Posted 03/14/19 by Kevin Mills, Leeann Sinpatanasakul in Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Federal, Partnership for Active Transportation, TrailsTransform

As Congress considers how it can meet the transportation needs of 21st-century America, RTC encourages them to consider the positive impacts active transportation can have on communities and how connected trail networks and spines are a significant part of the answer.

Baltimore, MD | Photo by Side A Photography

Maryland Communities Are Hungry for Trails—and the Maryland General Assembly Can Help

Posted 02/27/19 by Patrick Wojahn in Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, Great American Rail-Trail, Local Organizing, Maryland, State and Federal Programs, TrailNation

With several landmark trail networks in progress, the State of Maryland is poised to serve as a nationwide example for other states. Marylanders are increasingly recognizing the benefits of trails for health, transportation and economic development. And many communities in the “Old Line State”—whether in the I-95 corridor’s suburban and urban areas, the fields of the Eastern Shore or the mountainous Western panhandle—are developing trail master plans and investing in trail networks.

Photo courtesy Prairie Corridor Foundation

Developing Trail in Lincoln Celebrates Nebraska’s Tallgrass Prairie Legacy

Posted 02/13/19 by Matthew Horne in Policy | Tagged with Connected Systems, Ecology and Environment, Heritage and Restoration, Nebraska, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability

Welcome to Nebraska’s tallgrass prairie, a rapidly disappearing ecosystem that Nebraskans are racing to preserve—and they hope to do just that with a new corridor and trail: the Prairie Corridor on Haines Branch.

With a population of 1.5 million in Manhattan alone, New York has plenty of people willing to brave a cold and gusty winter day on the Hudson River Valley Greenway. | Photo by Scott Stark

State of the States: Here’s What’s on the Policy Horizon in 2019

Posted 02/07/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Funding, IHTC, Indiana, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Route of the Badger, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Wisconsin

Now, as 2019 gets underway, RTC’s state policy team has its antenna up for new opportunities to fund trails at the state level—and continue to build momentum for trail building nationwide. Below is a summary on the state of the states for trails, walking and biking.

Baltimore, Maryland | Photo by Side A Photography

Protecting Trails in 2018: Five Ways We Mobilized in Communities This Year

Posted 11/15/18 by Amy Kapp, Brandi Horton in America's Trails, Building Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Best Of, Case Studies, Community Events, Corridors and Railbanking, Demand for Trails, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Federal, Funding, Health and Active Living, IHTC, Legal Issues, Local Organizing, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability, Washington, Wisconsin

All across the country—from the great redwoods of California, to the trestles of Missouri, to the stream valleys and neighborhoods of Baltimore, Maryland—Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) and the national trail community put itself on the front lines to protect and defend trails in 2018. Here are five ways we mobilized in communities this year.

Dave Schlabowske, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Bike Fed, discusses the value of building a Trails Caucus | Photo by Brian Housh, courtesy RTC

Trail Caucus Kicks Off to Connect Wisconsin as New Projects Build Momentum

Posted 10/10/18 by Willie Karidis in America's Trails, Building Trails, Policy | Tagged with Community Events, Connected Systems, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Demand for Trails, Design Strategies, Health and Active Living, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Trail Communities, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability

Last week, an active and enthusiastic crowd of public officials, trail advocates, business owners and avid cyclists in Wisconsin gathered at the Wisconsin Bike Fed offices and Velobahn Coffee & Cycle to kick off the state’s newly formed Legislative Trails Caucus.

2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champions Award ceremony | Photo by Hung Tran

Central Author of Historic Trail Legislation Named 2018 Doppelt Family Rail-Trail Champion

Posted 09/27/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Policy, Taking Action, Success Stories, Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Demand for Trails, Federal, History Happened Here, Rail-Trail Champion

One of the most important moments in the history of the rail-trail movement happened behind the scenes, with little fanfare or notice, when National Park Service (NPS) staffer Peter Raynor drafted an invaluable piece of legislation in just a few words.

The Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama travels along and over Terrapin Creek. | Photo by Tom Dulaney

The State of Funding for Trails, Walking and Biking: A Mixed Bag

Posted 09/13/18 by Leeann Sinpatanasakul in Policy, America's Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Federal, Funding

Since the program’s inception in 1991, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been monitoring how these funds have been invested and the projects that have been built. Each year, the results are published in RTC’s Transportation Alternatives Spending Report. The most recent report was just released, summarizing how states used Transportation Alternatives funding in 2017.

East Lake Sammamish Trail in King County, Washington | Photo by Barbara Richey, courtesy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Rails-to-Trails Legal Team Protects Two Trail Corridors in Washington State

Posted 08/21/18 by Eli Griffen in Taking Action, Policy | Tagged with Legal Issues, RTC in Action, Threats to Trail Building, Washington

Last year, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC’s) legal team became actively involved in two cases—Hornish Joint Living Trust, et al. v. King County, and Kaseburg et al. v. King County, et al., involving attacks on railbanked rail-trails in King County. On Aug. 3, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of King County in both of these cases, rejecting attempts by adjacent landowners to limit the rights of trail managers to use the full width of the right of way. The Ninth Circuit ruling was a decisive victory that sets an important precedent for trail groups in the United States.