Browse by Tags

Earlier today the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted a hearing on the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. As generally acknowledged, current funding sources for the Trust Fund (notably gasoline and diesel taxes) are not sufficient to maintain a reliable transportation system. You can read all the testimony from the hearing at the House website here . The hearing featured presentations on a variety of approaches to enhancing revenue for the Highway Trust Fund. Janet F. Kavinoky...

There has been a lot of news coverage and analysis recently of a federal government sequestration and its potential impacts. At Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, our experienced policy and research staff have been mining their sources and sorting through all available information to estimate what impact sequestration could have on our movement for better trails, biking and walking. The US Department of Transportation has determined that monies in the Highway Trust Fund are protected from sequestration...

Over the past few weeks, the trails, walking and biking community, including Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, has been very focused on what the impending departure of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will mean for federal policy and funding of investments in active transportation. But while another visionary leader like LaHood at the USDOT will certainly move us in the right direction, when it comes to the trail development work that RTC does there are other major departments that...

Earlier this morning, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Pat Tomes addressed a United States House of Representatives legislative briefing in Washington, D.C. on the economic benefits of rail-trails and trail development across America. RTC's user survey and economic impact data work, which has put hard numbers behind otherwise anecdotal evidence that destination rail-trail do support and boost local economies, continues to grow in significance as trails advocates ramp up efforts to make sure the nation...

Everywhere you go you hear that times are tough. Particularly in the world of trail-building, resources for development and maintenance are limited or nonexistent, and it can be disheartening for volunteers and advocates who face seemingly insurmountable planning challenges and multi-million dollar estimates. But Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's report, Community Built: Stories of Volunteers Creating and Caring for Their Trails , contains inspiring examples of everyday Americans across the country using...

The success of the nearby Pennypack Trail has inspired a group of residents in Bucks County, Pa., to push for the conversion of another section of disused rail corridor into a public trail. " Build Our Trail - A Rail Trails Initiative," is advocating for the now unused Fox Chase-Newtown line (right) owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA), to be developed into a shared-use trail that would connect to the established Pennypack Trail as well as the proposed Neshaminy Creek...

It seems like the term "Bucket List" is all the rage these days--describing those once-in-a-lifetime adventures we dream about but often push to the side, caught up in the current of a busy day-to-day life. But what better time to start ticking things off your bucket list than right now? How about a 300-mile, fully supported ride with a group of friends and strangers down the stunning California coast? Registration is still open for Climate Ride California, September 9-13. Beginning in California...