What We’ve Been Up To
n
In the Northeast Regional Office, trail
development staff Pat Tomes and Carl
Knoch completed their
eighth Trail
User Survey and Economic Impact
Analysis, this time for the Erie to
Pittsburgh Trail
between Titusville and
Parker, Pa. An analysis of data indicated
that an estimated 131,786 annual user
visits resulted in a direct local economic
impact in 2013 of more than $5.7 mil-
lion. Contact:
pat@railstotrails.org
.
n
Tomes is leading a new
research proj-
ect on trail maintenance and opera-
tions
,
supported by the Pennsylvania
Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources. The project will provide
detailed information on maintaining
trails to help trail builders and support
groups across the country. At a November
2013
meeting of the Sussex County Trails
Partnership, Knoch presented
data from
trail-user surveys and economic impact
analyses on the Paulinskill Valley Trail
and the Sussex Branch Trail
.
These stud-
ies quantified the trails’ fiscal value to the
region, providing a powerful advocacy
tool for expansion of the trail network.
Contact:
carl@railstotrails.org
.
n
Jim Brown, trail development man-
ager for the National Office, partnered
with local groups in Baltimore, Md., on
an
earn-a-bike program for middle
school students
.
Students used the near-
by Herring Run Trail to learn about safe
bike riding and maintenance skills, while
participating in community service
projects focusing on watershed restora-
tion and urban agriculture. They were
rewarded for their efforts by earning
brand new bikes, thanks to the support
of the Coca-Cola Foundation through
RTC’s Metropolitan Grants Program.
Contact:
jim@railstotrails.org
.
n
In California, Barry Bergman, man-
ager of trail development for the Western
Regional Office, was on hand in October
2013
for the opening of the
first Tot
Lot in Los Angeles County
,
this one
in the Mary Van Dyke Park in South El
Monte. RTC has been partnering with a
local organization, Amigos de los Rios,
on improving opportunities for physical
activity in this underserved community.
Bergman also runs physical activity clubs
in two El Monte high schools to pro-
mote healthy lifestyles in young people.
Contact:
barry@railstotrails.org
.
n
RTC’s Western Regional Office also has
been
helping the city of Fortuna, Calif.,
develop a plan for the proposed Strongs
Creek Trail
.
Last fall, trail development
staff provided input during a master plan
charrette, including case studies about
successful trail projects to help inform the
design process, and resources about lever-
aging project funding.
n
Rhonda Romano and Eric Oberg
from the Midwest Regional Office
helped host the
Mid America Trails and
Greenways Conference in Illinois
in
October 2013. At the conference, Oberg
presented RTC’s new report on trails
alongside active rail lines and showcased
his data collection work that made
possible the first ever statewide eco-
nomic impact study of trails in Illinois.
Contact:
eric@railstotrails.org
.
n
The Midwest Regional Office also
co-hosted a
December 2013 gathering
of 40 trail and greenway development
stakeholders
across 12 counties in the
central Ohio area, known as the Central
Ohio Greenways initiative, and present-
ed at a November meeting of the Ohio
Trail Partnership. Contact: rhonda@
railstotrails.org.
n
In February 2014, during a Capitol
Hill presentation,
RTC and the
Partnership for Active Transportation
launched
Safe Routes to Everywhere
.
Received before a packed room by
Reps. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) and Eleanor
Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the federal
policy platform seeks three policy inno-
vations: increased federal investment
dedicated to safe active transportation
networks; innovative financing to lever-
age the private value of infrastructure;
and the integration of health concerns
into transportation decisions, and active
transportation opportunities into health
policies. More info:
partnership4at.org.
n
In December 2013, RTC filed an
amicus brief with the Supreme Court
to defend the public ownership of a
former rail corridor inside Wyoming’s
Medicine Bow National Forest. Despite
the best efforts of RTC and our legal
and trail building partners, the Supreme
Court ruled that the United States does
not retain an interest in the corridor after
the cessation of rail service, blocking
public use of the corridor as a rail-trail.
The Supreme Court remanded the case
back to the 10th Circuit Court, where
RTC’s legal team will work to narrow the
ultimate impact of the Supreme Court’s
ruling. Contact:
jake@railstotrails.org
.
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT
As part of RTC’s work
to facilitate the development of rails-with-trails, the
organization convened a groundbreaking meeting of trails groups, railroad agen-
cies and public authorities in Philadelphia in September 2013. The meeting was a
historic opportunity to address some of the issues that can prevent the creation of
successful rail-with-trail projects. A key accomplishment of the meeting was agree-
ment by both the rail and trail sectors that trails may serve as a safe and effective
means of helping to manage non-motorized transportation along railroad corridors,
and that more research is needed on the safety record of rails-with-trails compared
with active railroad corridors without adjacent trails. For more information on RTC’s
rails-with-trails work, visit
railstotrails.org/railwithtrail
.
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spring/summer.14
26
rail-trail report