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FROM LEFT: RTC/MILO BATEMAN; PAUL F. NEUMANN; BRYCE HALL, COURTESY RTC; BRUCE S. FORD, COURTESY SUMMIT METRO PARKS; CHRISTINA SCHMIDLIN
RTC Launches Trail
Expert Network
Through the generosity of the
Doppelt Family, RTC has proudly
launched our Trail Expert Network,
a new resource designed to
provide trail professionals with
relevant news, enhanced tools
and cutting-edge best practices
for building and stewarding trails.
Members are also eligible to apply
for the Doppelt Family Trail De-
velopment Fund. The network is
more than 5,000 members strong
and continues to grow.
Learn more and sign up here:
World-Class Trail Network Is
Coming to D.C.!
RTC is proud to be collaborat-
ing with the Washington Area
Bicyclist Association to form the
Capital Trails Coalition, a group of
stakeholders seeking to create a
world-class network of multi-use
trails equitably distributed in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan re-
gion. The trail network will provide
healthy, low-stress access to open
space and reliable transportation
for people of all ages and abilities
across the city. RTC will be lead-
ing the coalition’s trail mapping
and trail gap analysis work over
the next year.
Contact: Liz Thorstensen,
Cleveland Metroparks Award-
ed Nearly $8 Million for Bike/
Ped Pathways
In July, Cleveland Metroparks in
Ohio was awarded a groundbreak-
ing $7.95 million federal TIGER
(Transportation Investment Gen-
erating Economic Recovery) grant
that will help create a connection to
the 85-mile Ohio & Erie Canalway
Towpath Trail, and help complete
and connect several other local
trails into a regional network. The
winning project, Reconnecting
Cleveland, will ultimately create
better access to jobs, transit and
safe outdoor recreational spaces,
and serve as a boon for economic
development. RTC’s Midwest
Regional Office was pleased to
support this effort and will continue
to provide technical assistance in
the next several years.
Contact: Eric Oberg,
CA Moving Ahead on Major
Investment in Parks and Trails
Californians continue to advocate
for a nearly $3.5 billion invest-
ment in parks and trails. If passed
in 2018, the California Parks,
Water, Climate, and Coastal Pro-
tection and Outdoor Access for All
Act of 2018 (AB 2444) would fund
parks and habitat and provide
potentially hundreds of millions of
dollars for more trails throughout
the state. Signature projects like
the California Coastal Trail, as well
as local urban trails connecting
neighborhoods to recreational ar-
eas, would benefit from the bond.
The measure prioritizes invest-
ment in disadvantaged communi-
ties with scarce open space and
recreation opportunities, and high
rates of diabetes and obesity.
The measure is currently slated
for the June 2018 ballot. RTC’s
Western Regional Office will con-
tinue to shepherd this important bill
forward to green our communities,
beautify our neighborhoods and
combat climate change.
Contact: Laura Cohen,
Cleaner, Greener Ohio
Since voters approved it in 2000,
the Clean Ohio Fund has helped
to preserve green space and
farmland, clean up brownfields
and enhance outdoor recreation
in the Buckeye State—including
by supporting trail construc-
tion. However, the fund had
been running on “empty” for a
long time. RTC Midwest Policy
Manager Brian Housh worked
with a broad coalition of organiza-
tions to renew and grow the fund,
including his recent participation
in an onsite educational event
with legislators to educate them
about the fund. As a result of
RTC’S DOPPELT FAMILY TRAIL
DEVELOPMENT FUND AWARDS
NEARLY $100,000 TO SIX
COMMUNITIES
In June, RTC announced the winners
of our 2016 Doppelt Family Trail
Development Fund grant awards.
Now in its third cycle, the program
supports communities seeking to build
and improve their multi-use trails.
RTC received an unprecedented 166
applications this year and was able to
award nearly $100,000 to six worthy
projects:
• $7,500 to Ecology Action of Santa
Cruz (California) on behalf of Santa
Cruz County Friends of the Rail
& Trail for the Santa Cruz County
Coastal Rail Trail
• $10,000 to the Great Shasta Rail Trail
Association (California) for the Great
Shasta Rail Trail
• $20,000 to Fort Wayne Trails, Inc.
(Indiana) for the Pufferbelly Trail
• $15,000 to the Gallatin Valley Land
Trust (Montana) for the Gallagator
Trail
• $20,000 to the Allegheny Trail
Alliance (Pennsylvania) for the Great
Allegheny Passage’s Pinkerton
Tunnel
• $25,000 to the Cross Vermont Trail
Association (Vermont) for the Cross
Vermont Trail
Contact: Kelly Pack
RTC and WABA are collaborating on
a new world-class trail system in
the D.C. area.
$7.95 million federal TIGER grant
will help complete a regional trail
system in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
could go toward California trails if
new bill is passed.
$12.5 million/year allocated to
Clean Ohio Fund for trail and green
space construction.
RTC awards nearly $100,000 to
support development of six multi-
use trail projects nationwide.
What We’ve Been Up To
the coalition’s advocacy efforts,
legislators passed a bill to renew
the Clean Ohio Fund and increase
its funding. A portion of the fund
set aside for trails doubled its
funding to $12.5 million per year.
Gov. John Kasich signed the bill
into law on May 4, 2016.
Contact: Brian Housh,
R T C Q U A R T E R LY R E P O R T
FALL 2016 RAILS TO TRAILS 3