Success Stories Page 6

The Profitable Tail of the Silver Comet Trail

Posted 05/07/14 by Rick Pruetz in America's Trails, Trail Use, Success Stories | Tagged with Case Studies, Facts and FIgures, Georgia, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses

Photos © Rick Pruetz

A 2013 study by the Northwest Georgia Regional Planning Commission recommends more than doubling the length of the Silver Comet Trail —at its “tail” end—with spurs to nearby commercial centers and longer extensions to Marietta, Rome and Atlanta’s growing bike-path network.

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Photos © Bryan French, Annual Mayor's Ride in Duluth, MN

Duluth, Minn., Is Striving to Become North America's "Premiere Trail City

Posted 04/23/14 by Katie Harris in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Champions, Health and Active Living, Minnesota, Trail Communities

Mayor Don Ness, Duluth’s champion for trails, issued a challenge to the Duluth Trail Advisory Group—that “Duluth should be the premier trail city in North America”—and he is taking action to make that vision a reality. In 2011, the final draft of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan was published, creating a blueprint for the future as the city moves forward.

Photo CC Heather Harvey via Flickr

Featuring Minnesota: A Spotlight on the North Star State in April

Posted 03/31/14 by Marianne Wesley Fowler in Success Stories | Tagged with Minnesota

Smack dab in the middle of the radar is Move MN, a coalition dedicated to addressing critical transportation needs in the state. This diverse group of advocates is leading a charge to urge the Minnesota Legislature to pass a transportation funding package that would support: highway and bridge improvements, the development of regional transit systems and the expansion of safe, convenient bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

Photos © WABI Burien and Patti Means Project Solutions

In Washington: How Nostalgia—and Lots of Passion—Made a Town More Bikeable

Posted 02/18/14 by Amy Kapp in Success Stories | Tagged with Local Organizing, Trail Communities, Washington, Why Use Trails?

In this post, as RTC continues our month-long focus on Washington State, we are pleased to explore a local community's transformation into a more walkable and bikeable place, and the nostalgic passion of one local champion who put the gears in motion.

Photo © of FSU reCycle Bike Program

FSU Bike Program Makes Student Life More Sustainable

Posted 01/24/14 by Mark Kastner in Success Stories | Tagged with Art, Florida, Local Organizing, Signage and Amenities, Young Champions

At RTC, we believe in active transportation, being environmentally friendly and, of course, changing lives. That's why we were thrilled to catch up with Florida State University (FSU) junior Mark Kastner. Kastner is FSU's reCycle Bike Program student coordinator, a role he says is "technically a job but much more of a hobby and passion." Here's what Mark has to say about the program, which is making students' lives easier, healthier and greener.

Photo © Kidical Mass Tallahassee

Kidical Mass: Training Wheels and Tots the Focus of Tallahassee Bike Crew

Posted 01/22/14 by Amy Kapp in Taking Action, Success Stories | Tagged with Florida, Local Organizing

"The bike movement has grown up, and now it has kids." These are the words of Shane MacRhodes, founder of Kidical Mass - a national program designed to "provide a safe environment for kids and their parents to learn and practice [bicycle] safety skills" while creating awareness of the growing number of cyclists-including youth-in local areas. Hence the tagline: kids are traffic too.

Photo © Bicycle House

In Tallahassee, the (Bicycle) House that Scot Built

Posted 01/16/14 by Amy Kapp in Success Stories | Tagged with Florida, Local Organizing

It was Scot Benton's father who inspired him to found Bicycle House Tallahassee, a Florida nonprofit that's part bike repair shop and training center, part "build-a-bike" program, part community development organization, part trail cleanup group and part kitchen/overnight space for travelers on the "Southern Tier" route from San Diego, Calif., to Saint Augustine, Fla.

Photo © East Coast Greenway Alliance

A Few Hundred Strong, African-American Community Aims to Become Florida's Next Trail Town

Posted 01/08/14 by Herb Hiller in Success Stories, Trail Use | Tagged with Art, Florida, Signage and Amenities, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

There is an experience that is unique to the people driving cars along State Road 207 in Florida. Only they can make the sharp, abrupt drop into Armstrong - a settlement where moms walk babies and folks chat along the narrow town road that abruptly ends in woods. From the high-speed, four-lane highway to the serene woods the drivers go ...plop! It's a strange juxtaposition.