Page 7 - Fall 2014
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Teacher Provides a
Lesson in Trail Building
P
ersonable, kind, decisive: These
traits made Jim Holden both a good
teacher and a trail visionary. While a
professor of computer science at Clarion
University of Pennsylvania more than
two decades ago, he recognized the
importance of preserving disused rail
corridors for public use.
“
Jim was the key to starting something
that became huge,” says Allegheny Valley
Trails Association (AVTA) President Bill
Weller, who first met Holden as a seventh
grade student back in 1967 when Holden
was his math teacher. Years later, Holden
bought a farm near Weller’s family-
owned tire shop in Franklin, and the two
launched a lifelong friendship rooted in
biking and running.
The “something” that Holden started
was a regional system of trails that today
is coalescing into a 270-mile network
known as the Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail.
Franklin—population about 6,500—
now rubs shoulders with Philadelphia
and Pittsburgh as one of only four
Pennsylvania cities to be designated a
Bicycle Friendly Community.
AVTA began in 1990 when Holden,
along with fellow university professor
David Howes, co-founded the non-
profit group. The goal: to acquire local
unused rail corridors for conversion to
rail-trails. “Both Jim and I were avid
cyclists,” says Howes. “In northwestern
Pennsylvania, there were very limited
areas for safe cycling. We thought it
would be a terrible loss if these corridors
went out of the public domain.”
As the organization grew, AVTA
developed three rail-trails—the
Allegheny River Trail, Sandy Creek Trail
and Clarion Highlands Trail—that wind
through 50 scenic miles dotted with
trestles, tunnels and other railroad rel-
ics. “Building rail-trails is a very difficult
thing to accomplish,” says Howes, “but
Jim would never get discouraged. He
was a perpetual optimist.”
Holden stayed active in AVTA
until a sudden illness ended his life in
November 2013.
Filling Holden’s shoes has been dif-
ficult, says Weller. “When I go, I hope
he’ll shake my hand and say, ‘Bill, you
did a good job.’”
A Jim Holden Memorial Ride,
scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, will
cover nearly 60 miles along the Erie-
to-Pittsburgh Trail. Those interested
in participating can contact kharris@
oilregion.org.
A portion of the corridor is still
in use by the Oregon Coast Scenic
Railroad, which operates tourist excur-
sions using vintage locomotives and
an all-volunteer crew. In this 46-mile
section, from Enright to the coast and
along it to Tillamook, the Salmonberry
Corridor Rail-Trail will parallel those
active tracks, a scenario known as
rail-with-trail.
The Port of Tillamook Bay
Corporation, which owns the entire rail
corridor, including the portion it leases
to the tourist rail line, supports the trail
effort. “The trail will be a game-changer
for this part of the coast,” says Michele
Bradley, the organization’s general man-
ager. “Right now, there is little connec-
tivity besides Highway 101. It’s a scenic
biking byway, but some areas are not
safe for bike traffic.”
Safety, connectivity, and an influx
of tourists and tourism spending have
the trail’s coastal communities eager for
the project to begin. “The mayors in
Tillamook County have been extremely
supportive,” Decker says. “One of the
greatest challenges is to move quickly
enough to satisfy them.”
Numerous public meetings have been
held to gather community feedback. A
master plan is under development and
expected to be completed by November
2014.
The document will outline small
segments of trail that can be completed
to keep the project moving forward.
“
Over the next few years, we are
going to be out on the ground working
on some catalyst projects,” Decker says.
“
Not everything will be done at once;
the trail will be a bunch of smaller pieces
coming together, but, at every level,
there are high hopes for the trail.”
This feeling of hope extends to fun-
draising efforts as well, which have just
begun and will determine the pace of the
project. Bradley says, “I have no doubt
the trail will happen; it’s just a matter of
how fast.”
For more information about the
Salmonberry Corridor Rail-Trail, visit
Photo courtesy bill weller
MoreWays to Connect with RTC
Jim Holden
(
front rider) and
his friend Steve
Schenck enjoying
a bike ride
rails
to
trails
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