The U.S. Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, says take a hike. We agree. Dr. Benjamin is getting set to issue a Call to Action urging Americans to walk, and is looking for ideas on how to get more Americans walking.
Yesterday, President Obama proposed a budget that would keep funding for core transportation programs even with the levels authorized in MAP-21, while adding $50 billion for immediate funding of transportation projects in key areas. The proposal also takes aim at some non-DOT programs of interest to the trail and active transportation constituencies.
As part of National Public Health Week, we're calling on our partners to help Surgeon General Regina Benjamin develop her Call to Action on Walkability—an effort to improve walkability and increase walking in our communities.
Last month, we posted our analysis of the impact of sequestration on the nation's trails, and biking and walking infrastructure. On March 1, as scheduled, federal agencies were subject to mandatory funding cuts. As we expected, monies in the Highway Trust Fund were protected from cuts, and programs funded with these monies continue as normal.
There has been a lot of news coverage and analysis recently of a federal government sequestration and its potential impacts. At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, our experienced policy and research staff have been mining their sources and sorting through all available information to estimate what impact sequestration could have on our movement for better trails, biking and walking.
There was some wonderful news for rail-trail advocates and planners in Illinois last week, with Governor Pat Quinn announcing tens of millions of dollars would be invested in trails throughout the state.
The state of California is a unique bird, particularly when it comes to transportation planning. A massive space populated with a mixture of booming metropolises, sprawling suburbs, and sparse rural areas, the Golden State's dire financial straits of late have made solving its intense congestion, connectivity and public health challenges all the more difficult, and important.
The communities of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle are one giant step closer to connecting to the thriving trail activity of western Maryland and Pennsylvania, thanks to a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant.
Many communities have developed in such an auto-centric way that their roads and streets don't have sidewalks, and walking or riding is either unsafe or, in some instances, banned.
The people of Putnam County in central Tennessee are getting impatient. The money is lined up and the plans have been drawn--like a child on Christmas morning, they can see the gift under the tree but have to wait a few more excruciating moments to unwrap it.
