Browse by Tags

What was, what is now, and what could one day be. It sounds like a philosophical mantra, or a visualization technique, but really it describes what the rail-trail "business" is all about. The before and after photo. The transformation. The potential. The undiscovered future. This past weekend, within the space of just a few hours, I found myself face to face with both the "before" and the "after" - one community trying to imagine a popular destination rail-trail in their area, and another already...

A strong community of trail users and local residents around the burgeoning Metropolitan Branch Trail in Washington, D.C. continues to have great success in promoting and improving this vital nonmotorized connection into the city. Since this rail-with-trail was opened in 2008, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has focused on fostering a sense of community ownership , hosting listservs for regular commuters and joggers, establishing a formal neighborhood group and building a regular series of community...

Local business leaders have joined the groundswell of support for a rail-trail project which, when complete, will run 93 miles through the communities and recreational and rural lands of northern Vermont. “I think it’s great for us,” Executive Director of the Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce Cindy Locke told the Stowe Reporter last week. “It’s going to be great for tourism. It’s going to be great for the community, especially in this day and age where we’re...

The people of Putnam County in central Tennessee are getting impatient. The money is lined up and the plans have been drawn--like a child on Christmas morning, they can see the gift under the tree but have to wait a few more excruciating moments to unwrap it. That gift is the Tennessee Central Heritage Rail Trail , and palatable local energy has the project moving ahead with speed. On November 16, an initial half-mile section of the trail will open to the public. But this is just the first phase...

Excellent rail-trail news out of the Northeast this week, with communities in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania taking important steps toward opening new segments in their area. In Salem, N.H., the Eagle Tribune reported that town selectmen voted unanimously to allow work to begin on converting a 2.6-mile section of the former Boston and Maine Railroad corridor into a multi-use trail (right). The project, being referred to as the Salem Bike-Ped Corridor , has received strong local support since it was...

Undeterred by all the debate about trail funding at the federal level, local communities continue to let their trail-building actions do the talking. Flicking through local newspapers out of Massachusetts during the past week, it is great to see local agencies and community groups rolling the sleeves up to advance their rail-trail ambitions. This grassroots energy speaks volumes about the demand across America for trail networks and bike and pedestrian infrastructure that better serve residents and...