Bed & Breakfast Inn Bicycle Touring

The ability to convince leaders and lawmakers of the economic justification of investing in trails, biking and walking has become a critical part of trail building in these fiscally-challenging times.

Fortunately for those of us working toward more options for active transportation, investments in this infrastructure produce remarkable returns and have transformative effects on communities large and small, impressively out of proportion to the comparatively small budgets involved.

To borrow from boxing parlance, when it comes to value for money, trails punch well above their weight.

For example, the design, engineering and construction of walking and biking facilities has been shown to create more jobs per dollar than any other type of transportation infrastructure construction. And multi-year investments in destination trail systems across America routinely recoup that investment in a short period of time in the form of trails tourism spending.

The fiscal arguments for why our state and federal governments should make investing in biking and walking an economic priority are very strong. Which is why RTC and the Partnership for Active Transportation put together this handy two-page fact sheet on the economic impact of trails, to help advocates and trail champions make the case in their local communities. (Click the page to the right to download the fact sheet).

We hope you find it a useful tool. Be sure to share this, and other RTC economic impact resources and stories, with your peers and colleagues in trail building.

 The Partnership for Active Transportation, of which RTC is a member, is a collaboration of health, economic development and transportation advocates working for greater investment in biking, walking and trails. The Partnership helps local governments realize the economic benefits of robust, inter-connected networks of trails and active transportation facilities. You can learn more about the Partnership and endorse the Declaration of Active Transportation at www.partnership4at.org. 

The story of America's rail-trails is rich with characters like the late Bill Field. The Michigan farmer is known and loved by people in this state as the unstoppable force behind the creation of the Hart-Montague Trail State Park, one of the America's great rural rail-trails.

A big man with a booming voice and a presence that always made itself known in a room, Field visited the Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin in the late 1970s and returned to Michigan determined to develop a trail through the abandoned railroad corridor that stretched from Hart to Montague, tracks that he grew up around.

The project became known as "Field's Folly." When Field (right) received no support from his fellow county officials for the rail-trail project, he took matters into his own hands, buying the property himself and donating the land, valued at $225,000, to the state.

Though many people laughed at "Field's Folly" then, no one is laughing now. The Hart-Montague Trail State Park is renowned by trail enthusiasts everywhere, and attracts thousands of visitors to the region each year.

So it is wonderful to see that the trail Field worked so hard for will now bear his name. Thanks to the efforts of Michigan State Senator Goeff Hansen (R-Hart.), legislation has been passed to rename the trail the William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail State Park. It is a fitting tribute to one of our nation's staunchest trail advocates, and a man who left a terrific legacy for the people of Michigan.

To learn more about Field's early struggles to build the trail, and the success it became, read Laura Stark's wonderful story on the Hart-Montague Trail State Park which was RTC's Trail of the Month for April.

Photo of Bill Field courtesy Joel Mikkelsen

The incredible growth in popularity of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's free trail-finder website, TrailLink.com, is testimony to the fact that people everywhere are bursting at the seams for opportunities to ride, walk, skate or run for recreation or transportation. The great challenge we face is in making sure we can develop trails fast enough to keep up with that demand.

With 24,169 miles of accurate GIS trail maps now vetted and available, TrailLink.com is playing a critical role in both encouraging and satisfying that demand. By helping connect people with trails near them, it is directly boosting trail users numbers and an awareness of options for biking and walking, which in turn boosts the level of support for continued investment in this infrastructure. Incidentally, it also draws attention to those regions that are not providing trail options. No one wants to be left off the map!

So it was great to see TrailLink.com recognized for its overall excellence at the California Trails and Greenways Conference earlier this month. The award gave credit to TrailLink.com as a powerful resource for providing useful, up-to-date information about trails around the country.

From us here at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, we greatly appreciate the TrailLink.com users who have contributed content, photos, and reviews to this rapidly growing database!

Here's an idea of just how often people turn to TrailLink.com for free information and advice on trails across the country: in the past 12 months, TrailLink.com has seen more than 4.1 million visitors viewing more than 28 million pages.

Some more good news for trail users -- we are putting the finishing touches on a mobile TrailLink iOS app, which should be ready by summer of this year! 

Another Midwestern metropolis doing great things to improve its bike- and walkability - Kansas City.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was contacted recently by the office of newly-elected Mayor Mark Holland, who, just a few short weeks into the job has expressed an interest in continuing the development of KC's burgeoning trail system.

At the heart of that system is the Riverfront Heritage Trail, a 10-mile paved rail-trail and bike and pedestrian pathway that begins at the riverfront and winds through Kansas City on both sides of the border. Its utility has so impressed community leaders in KC that there is energy to expand the Riverfront Heritage Trail, and its value to the community has inspired the completion of a number of other trail projects in the state, some of which are set to open in the coming months.

The Meadowlark Trail has been in development since the 1990s, but it looks like it's finally set to open after nearly two decades of work. The corridor was railbanked in 1997 by Central Kansas Conservancy, which has been negotiating with local landowners on the trail's construction since that time.

The Meadowlark Trail will connect with the existing Valkommen Trail (right) in Lindsborg, which occupies another rail corridor which was preserved for trail development by the railbanking process. In the future, the Meadowlark Trail will connect with the planned Sunflower to Santa Fe Trail in McPherson, which when complete will run for more than 30 miles west to Marion.

As if this isn't enough, the Southwind Rail Trail is also set to open in June. The Southwind Rail Trail runs for about 6.5 miles between Iola and Humboldt, and is being worked on by the Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy, which railbanked the corridor in 2011. In Iola, the trail will connect directly to the existing 50-mile Prairie Spirit Rail-Trail.

Not only is it terrific to see Kansas' leaders supportive of investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure which makes the region a more attractive place to live and do business, it is also great to witness the railbanking process in action - preserving America's disused rail corridors as assets for the American people.

Photo courtesy www.traillink.com

For more than 25 years, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has fought for dedicated funding for trail development. We secured this funding back in 1991 with the creation of the Transportation Enhancements program, (which was renamed Transportation Alternatives in the recent federal bill) and the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Now, that funding is in jeopardy in California.

RTP may be eliminated. Governor Jerry Brown's administration has indicated they plan to opt out of the RTP, which means elimination of the program in California. RTP is the only dedicated and sustainable source of funding for trail development, and also the only funding source available for maintenance activities.

RTP is essential to enhancing California's outdoor recreation industry. Please don't let the Governor eliminate this program which has been so successful for our state and many others.

The Governor has proposed consolidating multiple programs that fund trails into a new Active Transportation Program. We need to ensure that trail projects will continue to be a priority in this new structure.

Our ask is simple: send a letter to Gov. Brown and your state legislators to keep the RTP as a distinct, successful program administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and ensure that bicycle and pedestrian trails and pathways are a priority in the proposed Active Transportation Program.

Here are all the resources you need to make this important ask.

A sample letter to Governor Brown: (Please visit the site to view this media) 

A link to find your state legislator.

Background information about RTP: (Please visit the site to view this media)

The local projects it has funded: (Please visit the site to view this media)

For more information, or to get involved, please email me at our Western Regional Office, or call 415-814-1100.

Thank you for your support of trails and active transportation in California.