rails
to
trails
u
fall.15
2
point of view
Recycled Paper
t
o
rails
trails
The magazine of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC),
a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a nationwide
network of trails from former rail lines and connecting
corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.
PRESIDENT
Keith Laughlin
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Guy O. Williams, Chair; M. Katherine Kraft;
Gail Lipstein; John P. Rathbone; Chip Angle; Mike Cannon;
Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr.; Matthew Cohen; David Ingemie;
Rue Mapp; Frank Mulvey; Charles N. Marshall;
Doug Monieson; Tim Noel; T. Rowe Price; Tom Petri
MAGAZINE STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
Amy Kapp
Director of Communications
Elizabeth Striano
Staff Writers
Laura Stark, Katie Harris
Editorial Consultants
Wendy Jordan, Sharon Congdon
Design/Production
Manifest
Art Director
Jeffrey Kibler
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was incorporated in 1985 as a
nonprofit charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and is a publicly supported organization
as defined in Sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 509(a)(1). A copy
of the current financial statement, or annual report, and state
registration filed by RTC may be obtained by contacting RTC
at the address listed below. Donations to RTC are tax-deductible.
RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY
Headquarters
2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20037-1213
Phone
202.331.9696
Email
Websites
railstotrails.org
traillink.com
Field and Regional offices:
Midwest
Canal Winchester, Ohio
614.837.6782,
Northeast
Camp Hill, Pa.
717.238.1717,
Western
Oakland, Calif.
510.992.4662,
Florida
Tallahassee, Fla.
850.942.2379,
Rails to Trails
is a benefit of membership in Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy. Regular membership is $18 a year, $5 of which
supports the magazine. In addition to the magazine, members
receive discounts on RTC gifts and publications.
Rails to Trails
is published four times a year—three in print, one digital—
by RTC, a nonprofit charitable organization. Copyright 2015
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. ISSN 1523-4126. Printed in U.S.A.
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to
Rails to Trails
, 2121
Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20037-1213.
L
Pride and Excitement
Looking back on this summer, two milestone events in June stand out. The first
caused me to look back with pride, the second to look ahead with excitement.
On June 5, I was honored to speak at the 50th anniversary celebration of the
Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin, widely acknowledged as America’s first rail-trail.
During the program, speaker after speaker glowingly described what the trail has
meant to the health of the people and the economies in the communities along its
path. I swelled with pride when I thought about what has been accomplished in the
decades since the opening of the Elroy-Sparta in 1965. What began with 32 miles in
Wisconsin has now grown to more than 22,000 miles of rail-trail in all 50 states that
are used by tens of millions of Americans every year.
But this is not time to declare our mission complete; this is when it gets exciting.
With more than 22,000 miles of rail-trail on the ground, we now have the oppor-
tunity to connect these trails into regional trail systems. The vast
majority of existing trails are well loved and heavily used. But we
have not yet realized their full potential to improve the health of our
communities because they were originally conceived as individual
trails, not as segments of larger systems designed to facilitate active
transportation, recreation and bicycle tourism.
When trail connectivity improves in urban or suburban set-
tings, usage soars as more local people can safely and conveniently
reach more nearby destinations by foot or bike. When connectivity
improves on trails that link small towns in a scenic rural area, the
trail itself can become a destination that attracts bicyclists—and
their tourism dollars—from far and wide.
To seize this opportunity to create regional trail systems, Rails-to-
Trails Conservancy has launched an ambitious research project, the
Trail Modeling and Assessment Platform (T-MAP). This initiative is
creating a suite of innovative tools to inform future trail investment.
We achieved an exciting milestone in June when we completed the
first-ever national trail count. We collected data from 42 high-tech
trail counters in 12 locations across the United States over a 365-day
period. This first-of-its-kind database will be used to create forecasting models that
will permit us to project trail use on trails that have not yet been built. This new set of
tools will permit us to conduct our work with a sophistication unimaginable just a few
years ago.
While proud of all that our movement has achieved in the past, I am even more
excited about what we are poised to accomplish in the future. And I will admit that
I’m also proud that we are utilizing cutting-edge 21st-century technology to preserve
priceless 19th-century rail corridors that might otherwise be lost forever.
Happy trails!
Keith Laughlin, President
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Dave Jonasen
Elroy-Sparta
trail
