Excellent rail-trail news out of the Northeast this week, with communities in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania taking important steps toward opening new segments in their area.
How prepared are the planners, designers, engineers and work crews of our state departments of transportation to deliver this active transportation infrastructure? Aware of the critical role of these staff in facilitating walking and biking, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) recently led a study of the California Department of Transportation's (Caltrans) bicycle- and pedestrian-related technical training for its staff.
The proposed Norwalk River Valley Trail in southwest Connecticut continues from great idea toward reality, with the completion of a design for a 27-mile, mixed use trail, utilizing both active and disused rail corridors, between Norwalk and Danbury.
"Build Our Trail - A Rail Trails Initiative," is advocating for the now unused Fox Chase-Newtown line (right) owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), to be developed into a shared-use trail that would connect to the established Pennypack Trail as well as the proposed Neshaminy Creek Trail.
The vision and leadership of Delaware Governor Jack Markell and the state's senior transportation officials continues to pay off for the citizens of their state.
Great rail-trail news out of southern Virginia with a once overgrown and unused (below) section of rail corridor opened this week as a new section of the Tobacco Heritage Trail.
Inspired by the great success of its more famous rail-trails, such as the Minuteman and Shining Sea bikeways, and Cape Cod, Manhan, Nashua River and Norwottuck rail-trails, the state of Massachusetts is looking to further extend its network of non-motorized pathways.
The Star Democrat wrote this week that Gov. Martin O'Malley had approved funding for the Easton Rail Spur Line project that will connect to the existing Easton Rail-Trail and extend the network another 2.3 miles.
In rural Idaho, Friends of the Weiser River Trail (FWRT) has been able to build and maintain an 85-mile rail-trail with no significant municipal or county backing. FWRT did all of the hard work themselves, encountering opposition from both county governments and private property owners along the way, several of whom filed lawsuits against the friends group.
The residents and businesspeople of Saugus, close to the Massachusetts coastline, are celebrating today with the long-awaited beginning of work on their section of the Northern Strand Community Trail.
The times are a'changing in Texas. In centers like Denton, San Antonio, Austin, Houston and Fort Worth, planners are recognizing the importance of bike (and pedestrian) infrastructure, and as a result, ridership and bike-inspired initiatives are on the up.
