Walkability and Bikeability

10 Ways to Celebrate Opening Day for Trails on April 8

Posted 03/13/17 by Amy Kapp in America's Trails, Trail Use, Health and Wellness | Tagged with Community Events, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Trail Destinations, Walkability and Bikeability

This year’s Opening Day for Trails is going to be the best yet, as people across the country officially kick off spring by hitting their favorite pathways (or new ones!). Below are just 10 ways you can celebrate Opening Day in your own neighborhood and beyond.

Five Ways Trails Make Us Healthier (and Happier)

Posted 03/06/17 by Ashley Ashworth in Health and Wellness | Tagged with Best Of, Encouraging Trail Use, Health and Active Living, Healthy Aging, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

If you are like most Americans, you probably exercise less during the winter. It is hard to keep those New Year’s resolutions when it’s snowing outside! Nevertheless, warm weather is just around the corner—and what better way to be active outdoors than on your favorite trail? Regardless of your age, fitness level or ability—trails are for everyone. Here are five ways getting out on the trail can improve your health.

Photo courtesy Tim Tai | CC BY-NC 2.0

Secretary Foxx’s Parting Gift for Trails and Active Transportation Could Impact America

Posted 03/02/17 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy | Tagged with Federal, Funding, State and Federal Programs, Walkability and Bikeability

In the waning hours of his time as secretary of transportation, Anthony Foxx issued a regulation that could, if implemented, be a true gift to cyclists and pedestrians around the country. The regulation—which was developed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)—integrates multiple recommendations from the trail community to ensure biking and walking are considered when measuring the effectiveness of our transportation system. Here’s a quick recap!

Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore | CC BY-SA 2.0

Trump’s Speech to Congress: More Talk on Infrastructure

Posted 03/01/17 by Kevin Mills in Policy | Tagged with Repairs and Trail Safety, Federal, Funding, State and Federal Programs, Walkability and Bikeability

With the promise of a “new program on national rebuilding,” President Trump reinforced his intention to push for a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure in his Feb. 28 speech to Congress. He pointed to crumbling infrastructure as his motivator alongside worries he’s previously expressed about potholes and tiles falling from the ceilings of tunnels.

Photo Courtesy Adam Coppola Photography

New Congress, New President: What’s Ahead for Trails?

Posted 01/24/17 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy | Tagged with Federal, State and Federal Programs, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

This is a significant time for America. The 115th Congress is underway, and a new administration is taking its place in Washington, D.C. On the heels of what has arguably been the most divisive presidential election in modern history, there is much uncertainty about what’s to come, including for active transportation—trails, walking and biking.

More and more cities across the country are interested in creating multimodal transportation options like those offered in Greenville, South Carolina. | Photo by Ian Curcio

Who Won the Race for Bike/Ped Funding on Nov. 8?

Posted 11/21/16 by Andrew Dupuy in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with California, Funding, Georgia, State and Federal Programs, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

During this year’s Nov. 8 election, the presidential race was the primary focus for many Americans; however, another story was also unfolding in communities across the country. As we take time to process all the results of the election during this “lame duck” time period, RTC wanted to address this story—which had positive implications for trails, biking and walking on both sides of the U.S.

Mount Vernon Trail in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Brandi Horton

Capital Trails Coalition Begins Creation of World-Class Trail Network in DC

Posted 10/13/16 by Amy Kapp, Katie Harris in Building Trails, America's Trails | Tagged with Connected Systems, District Of Columbia, Walkability and Bikeability

On the morning of Oct. 13, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) joined the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA), the National Park Service, REI and a crowd of more than 40 people along the Mount Vernon Trail in Washington, D.C. to formally announce the creation of the Capital Trails Coalition.—which is working to complete a world-class multi-use trail network in the D.C. metro region.

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Milo Bateman

How Will Trails Change the Course of America by 2036?

Posted 09/16/16 by Keith Laughlin in Health and Wellness, Taking Action | Tagged with Celebrating 30 Years, Connected Systems, Featured Magazine Articles, Mode Shift, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Imagine that we are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2036. What do we want the world to look like? How will our lives be different? And—perhaps more importantly—what do we need to achieve over the next 20 years to make this vision a reality?

Fort Mason segment of the developing San Francisco Bay Trail in California | Photo by Cindy Barks

$90 Million Allocated to Trails, Biking and Green Infrastructure in California

Posted 09/13/16 by Laura Cohen in Policy, Building Trails | Tagged with California, Disparities and Underserved Communities, Ecology and Environment, Funding, State and Federal Programs, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

Exciting developments in California! Last week, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.—along with Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon—announced California’s plans to allocate $900 million to programs specifically targeted toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions—while benefiting low-income areas, supporting clean transportation and reducing climate pollution.

Commuter in the D.C. Metro Area | Photo courtesy Washington Area Bicyclist Association | CC by 2.0

Why “People Before Cars” Can Help Curb Traffic Congestion

Posted 08/26/16 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy, Taking Action | Tagged with District Of Columbia, Maryland, Overcoming Opposition, Products of Good Policy, RTC in Action, Threats to Trail Building, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability, Why Use Trails?

“The congestion in our region is real. Very real. Every-single-day real,” writes RTC Director of Government Relations and Mayor of College Park, Maryland, Patrick Wojahn, in an Aug. 26 Washington Post Op-Ed about traffic in the District and how people-powered mobility can do much to help alleviate it.

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

Transportation for People or Cars? USDOT’s New Rule Focuses Only on Highways.

Posted 08/10/16 by Patrick Wojahn in Policy, Taking Action | Tagged with RTC in Action, Transportation and Health, Walkability and Bikeability

If a person uses a trail to get to work or school, and no one is around to measure the trip, do they count? That is the question RTC has asked in response to a new performance measure rule proposed by the United States Department of Transportation.