RTC TrailBlog

New Legislation Will Build Healthy, Clean, Cost-Effective Transportation Options

Washington, D.C., March 2, 2010 — Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Campaign for Active Transportation celebrated a milestone today with the release of Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s (D-Ore.) Active Community Transportation (ACT) Act of 2010 [H.R. 4722].

This landmark legislation promises to launch a new era of investment in building complete systems of facilities that make it safe and convenient for Americans to choose to walk or bicycle instead of drive for routine, short trips. The ACT Act creates a competitive fund to which communities can apply and receive funding to build these active transportation systems. In the process, tens of thousands of jobs in construction and small businesses will be created, invigorating local economies, while also saving Americans money at the pump.

“This is possibly the most important legislation to come down in the last 20 years for those who value trails, walking and biking, and we applaud the visionary leadership Representative Blumenauer and his colleagues have shown through the creation of this bill,” says Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) President Keith Laughlin. “In 2007, when we launched our Campaign for Active Transportation at RTC’s Portland conference, we knew it would take a focused, smart investment plan to make active transportation systems commonplace. The ACT Act is that plan, and we’ve never been more ready.”

ACT Act Findings
Americans are hungry for safe and convenient opportunities to walk or bicycle to work, school, shops, transit and other daily destinations. Respondents in a national poll said they would spend 15 times current levels on walking and bicycling (currently, less than two percent of all transportation dollars) at the expense of what they view as lopsided spending on roads. ACT Act states that:

• Nearly half of the trips taken in the United States today are within a 20-minute bicycle ride, and half of those trips are within a 20-minute walk;
• Further, 90 percent of transit trips begin with walking or bicycling;
• There is huge potential for an increased role for active transportation to these nearby destinations, and;
• The ACT Act is can maximize mode shift by providing “intensive, concentrated funding of active transportation systems rather than discrete piecemeal projects.”  

“Everywhere we go, communities are eager to pull the pieces of their active transportation systems together so the public can safely walk and bike,” says RTC Vice President of Policy Kevin Mills. “It is essential that we give Americans the means to achieve their dreams of livable communities by offering healthy, clean, affordable and enjoyable ways to get around. The ACT Act provides the missing piece of our transportation puzzle; ironically, we have left the simplest and most cost-effective investment for last.” 

RTC and the ACT Act
RTC has been the lead advocate behind the creation of this bill, organizing more than 50 communities around the country, and soliciting case statements from these communities that detail how, if the funding were available, they would create active transportation systems in their area. Most of these communities have been engaged for years, committing local resources to their organizing and planning efforts, earning support from mayors, city and county councils, advocacy and business leaders. Additionally, a national letter of support has been signed by representatives from more than 300 national, regional and local groups and more than 30 mayors and other elected officials.

The introduction of this bill, which would be a part of the larger transportation reauthorization, represents opportunity knocking. Current original co-sponsors of the bill include Representatives Capuano (Mass.), Carnahan (Mo.), Cohen (Tenn.), Filner (Calif.), Lipinski (Ill.) and Moran (Va.).

Take ACTion
RTC is calling on its supporters and coalition members to contact their members of Congress and encourage them to become co-sponsors of the ACT Act.

For more information on RTC and the ACT Act, visit www.railstotrails.org/act.

March is just around the corner, with warmer weather—and thoughts of getting outside and getting active—not far behind.

It's also National Nutrition Month and, in observance, North Carolina Public Health has published a tip sheet outlining simple steps one can take to create a more healthy, active lifestyle.

In "5 Easy Ways to Create Walkable/Bikeable Communities," the advice is sound and to the point:

• Understand the issues
• Speak your mind
• Write a letter, send an e-mail message
• Get involved with local trail groups
• Walk and bike the talk

Even better, both Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and TrailLink.com are featured as go-to resources for connecting with the trails and trail groups near you.

For more, see 5 Easy Ways to Create Walkable/Bikeable Communities from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health.

Trail/Bicycle/Pedestrian Projects to Help Create Jobs and Spur Economic Growth

Announced Wednesday, Feb. 17, several active transportation investments were included among 51 projects to receive TIGER funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant Program is a highly competitive, national opportunity to fund transportation projects that are “innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional,” and that “promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region or the nation,” according to the press release from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

“TIGER grants will tackle the kind of major transportation projects that have been difficult to build under other funding programs,” said LaHood. “This will help us meet the 21st century challenges of improving the environment, making our communities more livable and enhancing safety, all while creating jobs and growing the economy.”

More than 1,400 applications were submitted. RTC encouraged its partners in our Campaign for Active Transportation to enter the competition back when the TIGER program guidelines were posted in June 2009. It is an exciting measure of progress that several Active Transportation Campaign projects made the final cut, including:

• Philadelphia, Pa., and Camden, N.J., together received $23 million to develop a pedestrian and bicycle network, including commuter routes close to downtown. The work will provide a double economic lift, creating immediate construction jobs as well as impressive ongoing economic development benefits for areas hardest hit by the economic downturn. The Camden GreenWay will receive $5.8 million, a substantial down payment on the inspiring vision of an interconnected trail system that our partner, Cooper's Ferry Development Association, helped develop for RTC’s Active Transportation Campaign. This grant also will fill gaps in the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia, part of the East Coast Greenway.
• Indianapolis, Ind., was awarded $20.5 million to complete an eight-mile trail in the heart of downtown that will provide critical connectivity to their active transportation system. The project will link commercial, residential and cultural destinations. As with Indianapolis’ case statement for RTC’s campaign, the project reflects careful prioritization to maximize economic, environmental and health benefits of the investment. A video (embedded below) describes this project in more detail.
• Burlington, Vt., will receive $3.15 million for waterfront development, including a trail that is an important piece of Burlington’s planned active transportation system.

These three projects alone will receive more than 3 percent of TIGER funding, and nearly half of the funded projects include bicycle and pedestrian elements, such as complete streets or bridge access. View the complete list of the TIGER projects chosen, and check out the Active Transportation Campaign Case Statements RTC gathered from communities across the country in support of more federal investment in trails, biking and walking. They are evidence of a groundswell of support for focused federal investment to complete active transportation systems to make it safe and convenient to choose bicycling and walking for shorter routine trips.

This post has been edited by Kartik Sribarra to reflect minor corrections to the Philadelphia, Pa., and Camden, N.J., bullet and by Stephen Miller to include a video about the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

This week, First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let's Move, an initiative to fight childhood obesity by focusing on nutrition and physical activity at both school and home. At the White House launch of Let's Move, Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville, Mass., spoke about Shape Up Somerville, a seven-year-old partnership in his city that has aggressively tackled the problem of obesity. The Somerville Community Path, a rail-trail though the heart of this densely populated city that connects to both the Minuteman Bikeway and the MBTA Red Line, has been an important part of the city's anti-obesity efforts by providing residents of adjacent neighborhoods with a safe place to walk and bike for recreation and transportation.

The success of the Somerville Community Path as part of a larger effort to combat obesity provides lessons for pathways in other cities. In an effort to understand the nuts and bolts of these and other best practices for urban trails and greenways, RTC's Urban Pathways Initiative is convening a forum in New Orleans on February 25, part of a larger conference called Urban Pathways to Livable Communities. The forum will bring together advocates and professionals working on urban pathways in cities across the nation, including a representative from Somerville, to discuss the challenges and successes they have experienced in their efforts to make pathways in urban neighborhoods safe, inviting and popular places for transportation and physical activity

By providing space for a casual walk, jog or bike ride to residents of neighborhoods without many other options for regular physical activity, urban pathways become a key component of addressing the national challenge of obesity.

If there is one stand-out in the rail-trail world, it may be Missouri's 225-mile Katy Trail—the longest rail-trail in the country and a hugely popular destination for trail tourists around the world.

On Thursday, February 4, Katy Trail lovers had one more reason to laud their favorite trail as Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced a plan to save the iconic "Boonville Bridge," a 400-foot-long, steel lift bridge on the MKT railroad corridor in Boonville, Mo. Once retrofitted, the bridge would seamlessly—and uniquely—connect the Katy Trail on either side of the Missouri River.

The bridge, owned by Union Pacific, has been the subject of much debate and contention since the last train crossed its tracks in 1986. Union Pacific intended to dismantle the bridge and reuse its steel to create a railroad crossing on the Osage River. The Save the Katy Bridge coalition has long-fought this action, citing the significant tourism and recreation revenue the Katy Trail generates, as well as the historical importance of the Boonville structure.

Gov. Nixon's proposal would give federal Recovery Act funds to Union Pacific to help construct the Osage River bridge, while Union Pacific would transfer ownership of the historic bridge to the city of Boonville.

We at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), long-time supporters of the Katy Trail, applaud this preservation progress. In 2008, during a trip to Jefferson City, Mo., to induct the Katy Trail into RTC's Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, RTC President Keith Laughlin and staff visited Boonville to see the bridge first-hand. We were awed by its magnificence.

Congratulations to the coalition, Gov. Nixon and all the Katy Trail supporters who never gave up on preserving this piece of railroad history. 

 

Top right: The Boonville Bridge extends across the Missouri River and would connect the Katy Trail on the north and south banks.

Bottom left: A view of the Boonville Bridge from the south side of the Missouri River. (RTC/Jennifer Kaleba)

The Katy Trail is a very popular rail-trail through the heart of Dallas. KDFW-TV reports on a dangerous crossing where the trail intersects Knox Street. Too often, drivers don't stop for trail users in the crosswalk, even though they are required to by law. This dangerous game of Frogger makes trail users nervous, and drivers on Knox Street have a hard time seeing the crosswalk and warning signs. According to KDFW, the city of Dallas is seeking federal funding to improve trail crossings across the city; a decision on that money is due by July. Recently, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center hosted a webinar on treatments for unsignalized crossings like this one on the Katy Trail. A full resource guide to trail crossings can be found in our Trail-Building Toolbox.

View Larger Map

We've posted about interesting ways to bridge the gap on RTC TrailBlog before. Here's another one in case your trail could use a span with a 27-foot width. TheWashCycle points us to this offer from the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA):

Maryland Highway officials hope to sell the Maryland Route 545 bridge over Little Elk Creek in Childs in Cecil County. The steel pony truss bridge was built in 1932...The span is available for purchase by any city or county government, historic preservation organization, bicycle/trail group,  non-profit organization, corporation or individual for reuse at a new location. State funds may be available to cover some of the costs of moving the bridge... The new owner is required to preserve the bridge according to established standards for historic bridges.

Interested? Contact Fred Shoken in SHA’s Environmental Planning Division/Cultural Resources Section at 866.527.0502 or at fshoken@sha.state.md.us before March 15.