Pennsylvania Page 8

Once Considered Wasteful, New Rail-Trail Proves Very Useful to Lewisburg, Pa.

Posted 07/10/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Trail Use | Tagged with Case Studies, Facts and FIgures, Overcoming Opposition, Pennsylvania

Photo of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail © LARA

When the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority (LARA) began building the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail back in 2009, some residents described the use of state and federal grants to purchase the corridor and construct the trail as "state-sponsored robbery."

Full Story
Photo © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy/Jake Lynch

Thanks to Towpath, Cycling Culture Thriving in Williamsport, Md.

Posted 06/20/12 by Jake Lynch in America's Trails | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism and Economic Stimulus

The first person I met in Williamsport, Md., was the town clerk, Donnie Stotelmyer. He was on the phone with the local fire chief, finding a way to hook us up with water for a giant shower truck and 250 hot and thirsty riders. A few moments earlier he had opened the restrooms in town hall for us to use, organized a discount rate at the swimming pool, and was generally bending over backwards to accommodate the droves of arriving riders on the 2012 Greenway Sojourn.

Photo © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy/Jake Lynch

In Brunswick, Md., Trail Business is Booming

Posted 06/19/12 by Jake Lynch in America's Trails | Tagged with Maryland, Pennsylvania, Sojourn Series, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses

I had read plenty of data and economic reports about the financial impact of trails tourism. And I had seen the trailhead parking lots full of vehicles with bike racks and horse trailers, seen the trail wayfinding signs going up outside small town burrito places, cafes and grocery stores. But arriving yesterday afternoon in Brunswick, a small town along the C&O Canal towpath in Maryland, I saw and felt the phenomenon of trail tourism like never before.

Photo of McKenna Boxx with former Mayor of Pittsburgh and fellow Rail-Trail Champion, Tom Murphy © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Pennsylvania's Grand Rail-Trail a Wonderful Legacy for Linda McKenna Boxx

Posted 06/12/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, Pennsylvania, RTC in Action

Linda McKenna Boxx has been the driving force behind the Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA) since its inception in 1995. Her ability to inspire and unite the efforts of a disparate group of cities, counties, volunteer groups and federal, state and local agencies, is widely credited for the tremendous success of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), which since the time of her involvement has become one of America's most popular rail-trail destinations.

Photo © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

RTC Continues to Lead Pennsylvania Trails Effort

Posted 06/08/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Pennsylvania, State and Federal Programs

For more than 20 years, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been one of the strongest members of Pennsylvania's trail development, advocacy and promotion community. Thanks in part to our efforts, Pennsylvania is now a state with plenty of rail-trail activity, a strong supporter base and a wonderful network of outdoor recreation assets.

Photo © schuylkillrivertrail.com

The Fight to Save Pennsylvania's Popular Trails Fund

Posted 04/10/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Policy, Taking Action | Tagged with Pennsylvania, Products of Good Policy, State and Federal Programs, Threats to Trail Building

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is this week mobilizing its thousands of members and supporters in Pennsylvania in defense of the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund--a immensely popular and successful program that has supported trails and open space creation in that state for the past 19 years.

Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day volunteer cleanup on the Richmond Greenway, Calif. © Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Caring For a Common Space: Research Connects Urban Greening With Safer Neighborhoods

Posted 02/21/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Case Studies, Facts and FIgures, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Overcoming Opposition, Pennsylvania, Safety and Law Enforcement

One of the most stubborn obstacles to building new trails, particularly in big cities where crime and public safety are often dominating concerns, is the perception that such pathways encourage or increase incidents of vandalism, assault, vagrancy and theft in nearby neighborhoods.

Pennsylvania and Maryland's Great Allegheny Passage

Posted 07/01/07 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails | Tagged with Best Of, Hall of Fame, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Imagine a continuous rail-trail 150 miles long where annually more than half a million visitors hike, bike, ride horseback, ski or fish. Imagine that trail in the making for more than two decades, growing 20 miles one year, three miles the next, a mere mile the following year, 13.5 the next—and so on. Piecemeal—the work of seven different trail-building organizations in two states.