Facts and FIgures

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

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

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.

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Trail crossing over the White River along the Cardinal Greenway near the McCulloch Riverview Trailhead in Muncie, Indiana | Photo by Tony Valainis

Indiana’s Cardinal Greenway

Posted 09/06/18 by Robert Annis in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Featured Magazine Articles, Health and Active Living, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, Indiana, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Trail Use Tips, Walkability and Bikeability

Decades ago, a disused railroad line found new life, becoming the Cardinal Greenway, Indiana’s longest rail-trail. But with some ambitious new projects planned, the newest member of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame—which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary as a trail in 2018—is about to experience yet another rebirth.

A jogger on the Hudson River Valley Greenway catches the last rays of the day’s light as the sun sets behind the New Jersey skyline. | Photo by Scott Stark

2020 Vision: New York's “Empire State Trail" Is Making Trails a Main Attraction

Posted 08/09/18 by Scott Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, Facts and FIgures, Featured Magazine Articles, Hall of Fame, Health and Active Living, Local Organizing, New York, Trail Destinations, Trails of the World, Transportation and Health, Urban Pathways, Walkability and Bikeability

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in early January 2017 his $200 million plan to lay down 350 miles of new trails in three years to bridge the gaps in two major existing routes—the east-west Erie Canalway Trail and the north-south Hudson River Valley Greenway—and knit them together into the greater Empire State Trail (EST). Shaped like a giant sideways T intersecting near Albany, the EST will connect three corners of the state: Manhattan, Buffalo and the Canadian border near Lake Champlain.

Elizabeth River Trail | Photo by TrailLink user krmurphy

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Reflects on Its 32nd Year As America’s Voice for Trails

Posted 06/12/18 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, Best Of, Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Facts and FIgures, Florida, Funding, Hall of Fame, History Happened Here, IHTC, Louisiana, LowerRioGrande, Miami LOOP, Missouri, Nebraska, Rock Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Texas, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?, Wisconsin

Here’s just a quick snapshot of our successes in 2017. To learn more about our work, download our FY 2017 Annual Report.

Milwaukee Skyline | Photo courtesy iStock by Getty Images

USDOT Cites RTC’s BikeAble Tool in Report on How to Assess Connectivity

Posted 04/27/18 by Shane Farthing in Building Trails | Tagged with Bike Commuting, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Health and Active Living, Mapping and Technology, Route of the Badger, Trail Communities, TrailNation, Walkability and Bikeability, Wisconsin

Active transportation is all about getting people where they need to go safely in a human-powered way—usually on foot or by bike. Yet we know from both research and everyday experience that many trips can be scary or stressful to make by walking or biking. Without proper infrastructure to make those trips safer, most people with a choice won’t leave their cars behind—resulting in less active and healthy lifestyles.

2017 Opening Day for Trails celebration on the Circuit Trails | Photo by Lauren Lenko

Exit the TIGER, Enter BUILD: What Does It Mean for Trails?

Posted 04/24/18 by Kevin Mills in Policy | Tagged with Facts and FIgures, Federal, Funding, Government Agencies, Partnership for Active Transportation, State and Federal Programs, TrailNation, TrailsTransform

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced a new program, BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development), which replaces the wildly popular TIGER program and also seeks to pursue many of the principles in the White House infrastructure plan on a small scale. Here’s what these changes mean for trails and the future of walking and biking investment.

San Francisco Bay Trail in Fort Mason, California | Photo by Cindy Barks

How California’s “Prop. 68” Could Be a Big Win for Trails, Walking and Biking

Posted 04/16/18 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with BATC, California, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Ecology and Environment, Facts and FIgures, Funding, Local Organizing, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities

The Parks, Environment and Water Bond, on this June's statewide ballot as Proposition 68, or “Prop. 68,” includes major funding opportunities for trails, biking and walking. We’re encouraging all California voters to get out and vote yes in June on this long overdue $4 billion investment in parks, trails and clean, safe water.

Morgantown's Caperton Trail, part of the Mon River Trail System | Photo by James Riel

West Virginia and Pennsylvania’s Parkersburg to Pittsburgh Corridor

Posted 04/16/18 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Bike Commuting, Community Events, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Encouraging Trail Use, Facts and FIgures, Health and Active Living, IHTC, Maintenance and Volunteers, Pennsylvania, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail of the Month, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, West Virginia

The P2P: It’s a small acronym that holds a world of promise. Extending from Parkersburg to Pittsburgh (P2P), the developing 238.5-mile route connecting northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania by trail would be a gamechanger for the dozens of small, rural Appalachian towns that have seen the Cinderella story of the highly successful Great Allegheny Passage so close at hand.

Hudson River Valley Greenway, a segment of the developing Empire State Trail in New York | Photo by Scott Stark

State Policy Snapshot: A Look at Trail Funding and Advocacy in 2017 and Beyond

Posted 03/01/18 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy, Success Stories | Tagged with BATC, California, Circuit Trails, Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Florida, Funding, IHTC, Local Organizing, LowerRioGrande, Miami LOOP, New York, Ohio, State and Federal Programs, Success Stories, Tennessee, TrailNation, TrailsTransform

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy monitors state legislative houses across the country to look for opportunities to advocate for new and innovative funding programs—as well defend and support trail funding under attack. And in 2017, RTC helped pass more than $103 million in recurring funding and more than $238 million in one-time funds for trails, walking and biking in states around the country.

Mario Brown from the Center for Health Equity at the University of Pittsburgh and Adventure Cycling member George Thomas in front of Bertie Hall, along the Niagara River Recreation Trail in Ontario, Canada, during the 2007 inaugural tour of the Underground Railroad Bicycling Route | Photo by C. Spratling, courtesy Adventure Cycling Association

Five Rail-Trails Along the Underground Railroad

Posted 02/15/18 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Canada, Connected Systems, Facts and FIgures, History Happened Here, New York, Ohio, Trail Businesses

Spanning more than 2,007 miles between Alabama and Canada, the Underground Railroad (UGRR) Bicycle Route, memorializes the network that helped slaves escape to freedom before and during the Civil War.

A Prescription for Congress: Invest in Transportation That Meets Americans' Needs

Posted 02/13/18 by Patrick Wojahn, Kevin Mills in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Facts and FIgures, Federal, Funding, Government Agencies, Mode Shift, Partnership for Active Transportation, Private Fundraising, State and Federal Programs, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

President Trump released his proposal for federal policy to build—and rebuild—our nation’s infrastructure. More infrastructure investment could be great for America, but only if it is invested in a balanced transportation system that meets the evolving needs of 21st-century America. Balanced transportation means investing in maintenance for our roads and bridges. It means investing in public transit and rail systems.

The Strand with bike riders, Parklands of Floyds Fork | Photo by Ted Wathen / Quadrant

Kentucky's Louisville Loop

Posted 02/12/18 by Amy Ahn in America's Trails, Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Best Of, Facts and FIgures, Kentucky, Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, TrailsTransform, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Louisvillians officially named the Louisville Loop in 2005, but you could argue that trails run in this city’s lifeblood. In the 1890s, pre-eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. envisioned large community parks connected to the neighborhoods of Louisville via “ribbons of green.” His tree-lined parkways still exist today and will serve as spokes to the 100-miles-plus Loop, once complete.