What We’ve Been Up To
n
Working in partnership with
Alta Planning and Design, RTC
recently provided a significant
boost to the development of a trail
through Ventura County, California.
The Ventura County Transportation
Commission (VCTC) has been seek-
ing to build a rail-with-trail along the
32-mile Santa Paula Branch Line rail
corridor, which runs across the entire
county.
When the project was initially
proposed, the agricultural community
strongly objected to the trail, raising
concerns about trail users impacting
their operations. By interviewing trail
managers and farmers experienced with
trails adjacent to active agricultural land,
RTC and Alta were able to demonstrate
how trails across the country have been
able to safely coexist with farms, with
many of the farmers becoming trail
advocates. Barry Bergman, manager of
trail development for RTC’s Western
Regional Office, delivered presentations
on the project at the California
Trails and Greenways Conference
and the International Trails Symposium.
Contact: Barry Bergman
.
n
Touching 50 counties in
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York
and Ohio, and having an envisioned
network of 1,450 miles, the Industrial
Heartland Trails Coalition is the
largest trail network project in which
RTC is currently collaborating.
In
the first two years of the project, more
than 111 organizations and agencies have
participated in planning and coalition
meetings. RTC recently completed phase
one of a groundbreaking trail-traffic
modeling project for this region that
has, for the first time, created an ana-
lytical way to segment large trail systems
into trail “typologies.” Phase two, which
includes the deployment of dozens
of automated trail counters, was sched-
uled for implementation in fall 2015.
RTC’s work on this project is made
possible by the generous support of the
George Gund Foundation. Contact: Eric
Oberg,
.
n
RTC recently conducted a compre-
hensive survey of trail managers to
better understand maintenance costs
of trails.
Results of this study show that
maintenance costs typically are not as
high as trail managers anticipated. Per-
mile yearly average costs for rail-trail
maintenance assessed in the study ranged
from $1,000 to $2,000, depending on
whether the trail was asphalt or stone
dust. This assessment supports the find-
ings of the more detailed budgets that
a few dozen trail managers provided,
which averaged $2,026 per mile per
year. This figure includes the value of
volunteer service, which was assigned an
equivalent hourly rate. When compared
against the finding that 58 percent of
trails reported using volunteers, these
annual cost figures may decrease signifi-
cantly. Approximately 200 respondents
representing rural (37 percent), urban
(14 percent), suburban (13 percent) and
mixed rural/suburban (36 percent) rail-
trails participated in the survey. For more
details and to access the full study, go
to the RTC Resource Library at
railsto
trails.org/resource-library
. Contact:
Tom Sexton,
.
n
Nearly 300 cyclists provided
an estimated economic boon of
ANNOUNCEMENT
Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund –
Call for Applications
Proposals are being accepted through early 2016 for the Doppelt Family Trail
Development Fund. This new grant programwas launched in 2015 to support
organizations and local governments that are implementing projects to build and
improve rail-trails. Under the Fund, RTC will award up to $85,000 per year for the
next five years to selected projects through a competitive process. The fund was
established by Jeff Doppelt of Great Neck, New York, a long-time supporter of RTC
and development of rail-trails in the United States, and an additional anonymous
donor. For more information on the grant, go to
railstotrails.org/funding
.
almost $250,000 to Maryland and
Pennsylvania this summer as par-
ticipants of RTC’s 14th Annual
Pennsylvania Rail-Trail Sojourn.
Each rider spent approximately $300
on equipment, $100 on food and drink
and $250 on accommodations before
or after the event in towns along the
rail-trail. Riders passed through 2 miles
of a recently completed section of the
Sheepskin Trail leading to Dunbar,
Pennsylvania, a key segment of the area’s
developing regional trail network. When
complete, this segment will create more
than 500 miles of contiguous trail sys-
tem throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland
and West Virginia. It is estimated that
such a trail would generate more than
$40 million in direct spending from trail
users annually. Contact: Tom Sexton,
.
n
The popular Sojourn is back
again—but this year, it’s bigger and
better! RTC is proud to present the
2016 Sojourn Series, four rides in
four states, showcasing some of the
best trails across the nation!
From
Pennsylvania’s Great Allegheny Passage
to Florida’s Miami to Everglades trail,
the Sojourn Series includes much-loved
favorites and some brand-new good-
ies. The first ride of the series kicks off
in February, and the final excursion is
planned for October. Stay tuned for
more information:
railstotrails.org/
sojourns
.
rails
to
trails
u
winter.16
26
rail-trail report
