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rails
to
trails
u
spring/summer.12
26
rail-trail report
Fast Facts
In the last issue,we reportedwe had
mapped 20,000miles of trail for our trail-
finder website,
www.TrailLink.
com
. As of February 2012,we’ve hit a new
milestone:
22,000miles
of rail- and
other multi-use trails. Sign up for free
today to explore for yourself!
Beyond Urban Centers
On January 30, 2012, Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy (RTC) hosted a press con-
ference in Washington, D.C., to release
its comprehensive analysis of bicycling
and walking in smaller communities
around the country. Produced with sup-
port from SRAM and Bikes Belong,
Active Transportation Beyond Urban
Centers: Walking and Bicycling in Small
Towns and Rural America
highlights the
surprising prevalence of non-motorized
transportation outside the traditional
city environment. Through new data
analysis and stories from local communi-
ties, the report thoroughly debunks the
myth that rural Americans can’t benefit
substantially from investment in bicy-
cling and pedestrian infrastructure.
As part of the report’s launch, RTC
also released an interactive online
tool—available at
www.railstotrails.
org/beyondurbancenters
—that allows
you to explore the role biking and walk-
ing have played in your community.
You can search the map to reveal bicycle
infrastructure in your area, local stories
of active transportation, county health
data, congressional districts, and bicycle
and pedestrian fatalities.
To learn more and download the
report, visit
www.railstotrails.org
or
contact RTC Research Manager Tracy
Hadden Loh at 202.974.5110 or tracy@
railstotrails.org.
RTC Highlights
n
On February 3, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sus-
tained the appeal filed by RTC, Jersey
City, N.J., and the Pennsylvania
Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment
Coalition. The court held the organiza-
tions had standing to challenge the law-
fulness of Conrail’s sale of the Harsimus
Branch-Sixth Street Embankment to
developers, who intended to demolish
the historical rail structure.
As a result
of this big victory, the case is returned
to the federal district court to address
the merits of RTC’s contention that
Conrail was required to obtain aban-
donment authorization from the
Surface Transportation Board prior
to selling the corridor
—a process that
affords multiple remedies for preserv-
ing the rail corridor for continued
public use, including use as a public
trail. Contact: Andrea Ferster, aferster@
railstotrails.org.
n
This past November at the 2011 Mid-
America Trails & Greenways Conference
in Fort Wayne, Ind.,
RTC’s Midwest
Regional Office was recognized for
outstanding achievement in trail
development and presented with a
unique walking stick made by local
artisans
. Contact: Rhonda Romano,
rhonda@railstotrails.org.
n
RTC’s Lindsay Martin and Eric
Oberg presented on trail planning and
maintenance at the Iowa Bike Summit
,
held January 27 and 28 in Des Moines,
Iowa. Contact: Lindsay Martin,
lindsay@railstotrails.org.
n
In January, RTC released a new
video on trail safety,
Is It Safe? Crime
and Perceptions of Safety on Urban
Pathways
.
The short film explores three
urban trails—in Washington, D.C.,
Cleveland and Richmond, Calif.—and
how managers successfully confronted
safety issues.
Contact: Kelly Pack,
kellyp@railstotrails.org.
n
On December 6, Laura Cohen,
director of RTC’s Western Regional
Office, conducted a workshop in Santa
Cruz, Calif., along with partners at the
Healthy Transportation Network. The
all-day workshop, “Designing for Bicycle
and Pedestrian Safety,” was organized
in part to support efforts to develop
the 32-mile Santa Cruz Branch rail
line, which the city is in the final stages
of purchasing.
The planned coastal
rail-with-trail will be the centerpiece
of Santa Cruz County’s portion of
the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic
Trail Network.
Contact: Laura Cohen,
laura@railstotrails.org.
n
On February 4 and 5,
RTC’s Western
Regional Office hosted an active trans-
portation forum at the San Diego
Foundation in California
. The gather-
ing brought together advocacy lead-
ers, elected officials, and public health
and transportation professionals from
Western states to develop strategy to
rescue bike/ped funding in the federal
transportation bill and to advance active
transportation at the state and local
level. Contact: Laura Cohen, laura@
railstotrails.org.
n
RTC’s Northeast Regional Office
hosted a regional forum in Camden,
N.J., on February 10 for the Urban
Pathways Initiative. Addressing issues of
urban trail development throughout the
Northeast,
the forum showcased the
story of urban riverfront renewal in
Camden
. Contact: Tom Sexton, tom@
railstotrails.org.
n
During 2011,
RTC conducted a user
survey and economic impact analysis
of the Sussex Branch Trail in New Jersey
and the combined Lebanon Valley Rail-
Trail and Conewago Recreation Trail in
Pennsylvania. Contacts: Carl Knoch,
carl@railstotrails.org; Patricia Tomes,
pat@railstotrails.org.
n
In February,
RTC President Keith
Laughlin was a keynote speaker
at the 2012 Texas Trails & Active
Transportation Conference in San
Antonio
. Contact: Keith Laughlin,
keith@railstotrails.org.