Trail Communities Page 14

Photo © www.gravoc.com

In Massachusetts, Trails Top List of What Local Residents Want

Posted 07/18/13 by Carl Knoch in Success Stories | Tagged with Demand for Trails, Massachusetts, Trail Communities

For many of the early years of the rail-trail movement, supporters of trail development often had to work pretty hard as salespeople of sorts - convincing a skeptical community that if they would build a trail people would use it and love it and the local area would benefit in a myriad of ways. Back in the days when there wasn't the data and compiled experiential evidence, the promises of these benefits had to be taken on faith, which made the task all that harder for those rail-trail advocates.

In Connecticut, Shoreline Greenway a Story of Local Spirit and Generosity

Posted 03/13/13 by Laura Stark in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Connecticut, Local Organizing, Trail Communities

You mightn't think it, but writing about trails can be a pretty life-affirming experience. More often than not, the stories of how our trails get built are stories about community spirit, the volunteer ethic, neighbors helping neighbors and local people using plenty of elbow grease, ingenuity and determination to build something of long-lasting good.

Photo courtesy Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0

In Western Maryland, Town of Hancock Capitalizes on Local Trail Traffic

Posted 07/02/12 by Lorraine Rehbock Halsted in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Maryland, Trail Communities

Hancock, MD is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts from all over the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. In particular, visitors come to the small town of 1,800 residents to journey along the 22.5-mile Western Maryland Rail Trail, which retraces a piece of the former Western Maryland Railway.

Photo © Columbus Planning Department

A Georgia Gem: The Columbus Fall Line Trace Opens

Posted 05/17/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Trail Use | Tagged with Connected Systems, Demand for Trails, Georgia, Trail Communities

Residents were so eager for the Columbus Fall Line Trace to open, they started trying to use it while still under construction, says Rick Jones, planning director for the city of Columbus. Happily, the 11-mile rail-trail in southwest Georgia opened for official use late last fall and was immediately popular.

Photo of the Danvers Rail Trail sponsored mile-marker © Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee

Grassroots Go-Ahead: Massachusetts Communities Take On Their Rail-Trail Ambitions

Posted 03/07/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Taking Action, Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Massachusetts, Private Fundraising, Trail Communities

In the state's northeast, the Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee has launched a mile-marker sponsorship program to fund the maintenance and improvement of the Danvers Rail Trail. The advisory committee is a town-appointed group that has directed development of the 4.3-mile rail-trail since the town of Danvers leased the corridor from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 2008.