Overcoming Opposition

Why “People Before Cars” Can Help Curb Traffic Congestion

Posted 08/26/16 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy, Taking Action | Tagged with District Of Columbia, Maryland, Overcoming Opposition, Products of Good Policy, RTC in Action, Threats to Trail Building, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Commuter in the D.C. Metro Area | Photo courtesy Washington Area Bicyclist Association | CC by 2.0

“The congestion in our region is real. Very real. Every-single-day real,” writes RTC Director of Government Relations and Mayor of College Park, Maryland, Patrick Wojahn, in an Aug. 26 Washington Post Op-Ed about traffic in the District and how people-powered mobility can do much to help alleviate it.

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John Wayne Pioneer Trail | Photo courtesy TrailLink.com/Washington State DNR - Southeast Region

Update from the West: The John Wayne Trail Is Safe—for Now

Posted 01/22/16 by Laura Cohen in Taking Action, Policy | Tagged with Local Organizing, Overcoming Opposition, RTC in Action, Success Stories, Washington

You may be aware that longest rail-trail in the U.S. has been under fire lately, but we’ve got good news—at least for now—for John Wayne Pioneer Trail supporters. RTC learned that Rep. Schmick has decided to stop his effort to close the John Wayne.

A still-standing coaling tower relic on the Armstrong Trail | Photo by Ron Steffey

A Well-Fought Battle for Good: The Armstrong Trail

Posted 05/23/15 by Katie Harris in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Overcoming Opposition, Pennsylvania, Success Stories

The 36-mile Armstrong Trail was forged in a fire hotter than any other. And, as the saying goes, those types of fires forge the strongest steel. Read about the incredible history of the creation of this western Pennsylvania rail-trail.

On the B&O Trail | Photo by Diana Virgil

What Could Be: Visionary Thinking Builds the B&O Trail

Posted 11/25/14 by Katie Harris in Building Trails | Tagged with Indiana, Overcoming Opposition

When Diana Virgil, president of the B&O Trail Association, first started on the B&O Trail in Indiana back in 1992, she had a clear vision of what could be. But, like many big thinkers, she was a little before her time, and resistance to her trail vision was standard. In fact, she believes she probably had more opponents than supporters during those beginning years.

Photo © Charissa Thacker

Florida's Blountstown Greenway Bike Path

Posted 01/01/14 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Florida, Heritage and Restoration, Overcoming Opposition, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Straddled between two well-known tourist hubs in the Florida Panhandle is Blountstown, a small city in Calhoun County with only two traffic lights. Nonetheless, it is a growing destination. At the center of this movement is the Blountstown Greenway Bike Path, which was taken from an unlikely prospect to the "heartbeat of the community" by a surprising trail hero, a radio-station owner.

Photo © Forest Preserve District of Will County

Illinois' Old Plank Road Trail

Posted 10/01/13 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Illinois, Local Organizing, Overcoming Opposition, RTC in Action, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Traveling along the tranquil Old Plank Road Trail today, you would never know the site was once the cause of heated debate and a contentious struggle lasting 20 years. The paved 22-mile rail-trail now offers a canopy of oak trees and sugar maples rustling overhead, delicate prairie grasses that stir with the passage of bicyclists, and soft purple wildflowers that peek up through the green underbrush.

Photo © Mountain Goat Trail Alliance

Tennessee's Mountain Goat - the Little Trail Project that Could

Posted 08/07/13 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Heritage and Restoration, Overcoming Opposition, State and Federal Programs, Tennessee

Ever since trains on the Mountain Goat Railroad stopped running in 1981, the people of the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee have wondered whether there was a way to turn this disused corridor into the asset and vibrant avenue it once was.

Trestle on Virginia Creeper Trail | Photo by Anthony Le, courtesy RTC

Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail

Posted 05/01/13 by Laura Stark in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Overcoming Opposition, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month, Virginia

Bicycling 68 miles in a day would be an accomplishment for most people. But doing it nearly every day is a testament to endurance and willpower. At 81 years of age, it seems an impossibility. Meet Lawrence the Legend. On any day of the week, you're likely to see Lawrence Dye, a slender man with big glasses, pedaling along the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail on a bike that he says has been "a great friend."

Kentucky Police Chief: Trail Likely to Deter Crime in Hopkinsville

Posted 04/29/13 by Jake Lynch in Building Trails | Tagged with Kentucky, Overcoming Opposition, Safety and Law Enforcement, Statements of Support

As the community of Hopkinsville in southeast Kentucky pursues its rail-trail ambitions, the New Era editorial board decided to respond to concerns about crime and safety by going to straight to an expert. This week the paper conducted and published a discussion on trails, crime and safety with Hopkinsville Chief of Police Guy Howie, who had experience with trails relationship to crime during his time with the police department in Ocala, Fla.