RTC in Action Page 2

Andrea Ferster | Photo by Eli Griffen

Rail-Trail Cases That Have Shaped the Movement

Posted 02/20/20 by Amy Kapp in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Featured Magazine Articles, Legal Issues, RTC in Action

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System Act (1968), Rails to Trails magazine sat down with Ferster to talk about some of the cases that have shaped the movement—as well as the monumental importance of railbanking, which—born from the National Trails System Act in 1983—has helped facilitate the creation of thousands of miles of rail-trails to date.

Thermal Belt Rail Trail bridge over Highway 74 | Photo by Dana Bradley

North Carolina’s Thermal Belt Rail Trail

Posted 02/11/20 by Cindy Barks in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Funding, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Heritage and Restoration, History Happened Here, North Carolina, RTC in Action, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Businesses, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trail of the Month

Today, the 13.58-mile Thermal Belt Rail Trail lies where the old Southern Railroad, and later the Thermal Belt Railway, once ran. The trail has been a boon for Rutherford County on a number of levels.

Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park in Missouri | Photo by TrailLink user chia57

RTC’s 2020 Doppelt Trail Fund Helps Fill Critical Funding, Gaps in Six Communities

Posted 02/03/20 by Mary Ellen Koontz in Building Trails | Tagged with Florida, Funding, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rock Island, RTC in Action

Today, in anticipation of the 2020 spring trail season, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) announced the recipients of the 2020 Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund grant program, awarding a total of $100,000 to six impactful trail projects across the United States.

Connectivity Evolution: Examining a Decade of Rails-to-Trails’ Impact, 2010–2020

Posted 12/31/19 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Success Stories, Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, BATC, Capital Trails Coalition, Caracara, Circuit Trails, Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Great American Rail-Trail, History Happened Here, IHTC, Miami LOOP, Recreational Trails Program, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Transportation Alternatives, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

Here’s a look at RTC and a decade of rail-trails—their power and their impact. As the 2010s built momentum, opportunities to maximize the power of these essential community assets became clear, and a new focus took hold at RTC and across the movement: that of regional connectivity and, ultimately, connecting the country by trail like never before. Check out RTC's connectivity evolution over the past decade.

Great American Rail-Trail preferred route reveal in South Cle Elum, Washington | Photo by Kathy Young

Seven Ways Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Brought Big Impact in 2019

Posted 12/05/19 by Amy Kapp in Success Stories, America's Trails | Tagged with BATC, Circuit Trails, Great American Rail-Trail, IHTC, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Recreational Trails Program, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, TrailNation, TrailsTransform, Transportation Alternatives

This year, America and the rail-trail movement saw giant leaps, and small-but-no-less-important bounds, that have helped to achieve RTC’s goal of connecting the country by trail like never before. From major advancements like the launch of the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail, to critical regional and local successes that have delivered new opportunities for mobility, active transportation and economic investment, the impact is being felt in communities of all shapes and sizes across the United States.

Keith Laughlin riding Caracara Trails | Photo courtesy RTC

Former Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin Named 2019 Rail-Trail Champion

Posted 12/02/19 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails | Tagged with Champions, Connected Systems, Great American Rail-Trail, RTC in Action, TrailNation, Transportation Alternatives

Former Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin Named 2019 Rail-Trail Champion. When Keith Laughlin became the second president of RTC in 2001, he did not envision he’d help usher in a golden age for trails.

GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail in South Carolina | Photo by Ian Curcio

A Q&A With Ryan Chao: Connecting Communities from Coast to Coast

Posted 11/13/19 by Brandi Horton, Ryan Chao in America's Trails, Taking Action | Tagged with Baltimore Greenway Trails Coalition, Connected Systems, Great American Rail-Trail, IHTC, RTC in Action, Tourism and Economic Development, TrailsTransform, Transportation and Health, West Virginia

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is forging ahead with a new focus: to connect critical walking and bicycling infrastructure across the country, and demonstrate the powerful benefits trails and trail networks deliver communities, through projects such as RTC’s TrailNation™ initiative and the Great American Rail-Trail™. Recently, the Trailblog chatted with RTC President Ryan Chao on how the organization is making this work happen in collaboration with thousands of partners across the country.

Facatativá to Puerto Salgar rail-trail project corridor field visit | Photo courtesy RTC

RTC Brings TrailNation Vision to President Duque of Colombia

Posted 10/11/19 by Liz Thorstensen in Building Trails | Tagged with Champions, Demand for Trails, Heritage and Restoration, RTC in Action, Rural Communities, Tourism , Tourism and Economic Development, Tourism and Economic Stimulus, Trail Communities, Trail Destinations, Trails of the World, Urban Pathways

RTC was invited to Bogotá, Colombia by the city’s renowned Mayor Enrique Peñalosa to lend our assistance in the planning of the country’s first rail-trail project, just outside of Bogotá, culminating with a presentation to Colombia President Iván Duque Márquez.

The Empire State Trail in New York City | Photo by Scott Stark

Rail-Trail State Policy 2019: Here’s What’s Happening Right now

Posted 08/29/19 by Andrew Dupuy, Brian K. Housh in Policy | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Funding, Local Organizing, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Route of the Badger, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, Texas, TrailNation

This year, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s state policy arm focused on strategies aimed at building financial support for trails, walking and bicycling over the long term, including the creation of advocacy infrastructure that should pay dividends for active transportation for years to come. Here’s a brief snapshot of where we are right now.

Bikers on tour of Caracara Trails | Photo by John Faulk, Frontera Media

A Closer Look: Connecting the Lower Rio Grande Valley by Trail

Posted 08/12/19 by Ryan Chao in America's Trails, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Caracara, Connected Systems, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, RTC in Action, Texas, TrailNation

Caracara is the name of the trail system developing throughout Cameron County, Texas, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley—a project that Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is honored to count among its TrailNation™ portfolio. The Caracara Trails will be a system unlike any other in a truly unique and special part of America—more than 428 miles of connected multiuse trails, U.S. Bicycle Routes and paddling trails all designed to inspire physical activity for residents and a regionwide “active tourism” economy.

United States Capitol during the national cherry blossom festival in Washington, D.C.

A Senate Committee Just Approved a Transportation Bill for America—Here’s What It Means for Trails

Posted 07/30/19 by Kevin Mills in Policy | Tagged with Federal, Funding, RTC in Action, State and Federal Programs, TrailsTransform, Transportation Alternatives

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW Committee) passed the bipartisan America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019, or ATIA, and is making progress more than a year before the FAST Act expires. This gives us optimism at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) that Congress will be able to come together to invest in a balanced transportation system. But there's still work to be done.