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Rail Trails: Why They Matter

Over 15,000 miles of abandoned railroad lines have been given new life and purpose -- recycled into some of America's premier bicycle and pedestrian corridors.  Now people are busy trying to develop another 10,000 miles.  Much of the dramatic success of rail-trails over the past two decades came from the "low-hanging fruit" -- namely, high-mileage trails in rural and suburban areas.  But the next generation of rail-trails will be located in more complex, higher-population areas and provide critical connections between existing trails.  "These trails tend to be more complex projects," says Jeff Ciabotti of the Rails to Trails Conservancy.  "Today, the good news is that the level of sophistication around trail development across the country is rising to meet that challenge."
 
The vision, Ciabotti says, is "not just linking rail-trails together, but linking them with communities, business centers, transit hubs, open space, and on-road facilities.  When you connect everything, you exponentially raise the economic, health, transportation, and environmental benefit of any individual project."  The Transportation Enhancements program in the federal transportation bill has provided funding for many rail-trails -- but demand for trails has far outstripped the supply of dollars.  States and local communities have filled some of the funding gap, but Ciabotti says, "we need to double or triple federal investment in biking, trails and walking." 
Opening Day on the Greenway
Whittier, California: Opening Day on the Whittier Greenway

Learning from the Field:
Whittier Greenway, California

 
Today, Whittier, California, is known as a suburb of Los Angeles.  But in the not-too-distant past, it was an agricultural hub connected to regional markets by a rail corridor for shipping out the citrus and walnut crop.  When Union Pacific abandoned the railway, the city decided to purchase it and convert it into a greenway.  The city worked with the National Park Service (NPS) to develop the concept, conduct feasibility studies, and bring together a task force.  Artists involved with the NPS Art & Community Landscapes program developed an innovative concept for the rail-trail -- treating each trailhead as a thematic "station stop" that evokes the history of the railroad and the city.  One station stop will focus on the agricultural heritage of the city, with a replica orchard of walnut and citrus trees. Plan View Citrus Station
Whittier, California: Design Plan for Citrus Station on the Whittier Greenway

Another "station" will look at natural history and paleontology.  The project was awarded a $30,000 NPS Challenge Cost Share grant to implement the artists' design, and won design recognition from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the American Society of Landscape Architects.  "In many cases with built-out communities," says NPS staffer Anne Dove, "there are few opportunities to develop longer corridors for trail and greenway use.  When a rail corridor is abandoned, it often gets carved up and sold to adjacent landowners.  So it's great when a community instead says, 'This is a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' and focuses on acquiring and protecting that corridor for the benefit of residents."

Learning from the Field:
Sheepskin Rail-Trail, Pennsylvania


Developing a rail-trail can take patience.  In 1994, a group of citizens in Fayette County, Pennsylvania formed an advocacy group to support the creation of a rail-trail along a 33-mile corridor.  Over the years, the National Park Service has helped their organization grow, guided the Feasibility Study, and planted the seeds of a community volunteer program to serve the trail once it is operating.  The first two miles of trail opened just over a year ago, after the County's Office of Planning and Development led the complex negotiations and project planning.  Now, the trail links people in Dunbar to the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal National Historic Park.  The project also includes a trailhead, parking, and restrooms at Dunbar's community park.  When complete, the trail will link the 50-mile Monongahela River Rail-Trail system in West Virginia with the 333-mile system of rail-trails connecting Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.

Sheepskin opening
Fayette County, Pennsylvania: Opening Day along the Sheepskin Rail-Trail (Image: J. Zurick)
 
click image to link to America's Best Idea page on nps.gov
Help Make America's Best Idea Even Better 
 
Join the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation for a day of service, celebration, and a sneak peek of Ken Burns' new film, The National Parks: America's Best Idea premiering the next night on PBS.
 
September 26 is also
National Public Lands Day and entrance to all 391 national parks is free.
girl viewing butterflyCatalysts: Getting Involved
 
Learn more by visiting the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, check out how the NPS RTCA program can help you with trail development, or read up on the "Economic Impacts of Protecting Rivers, Trails, and Greenway Corridors."   See how trails, greenways, and improved streets might help the environment, improve public health, and strengthen the economy in the report, Active Transportation for America.
 
Lewiston, Idaho: Modie Park (image: Philip Shinn)
Let's Work Together

Lets Work

Could your project benefit from 1-2 years' staff time from a National Park Service specialist? 
If you're restoring a river, building a community trail, or making an urban park flourish, we'd love to talk with you about ways we could work together. 
Call or email your regional representative today.
NPS Conservation and Recreation Links

Challenge Cost Share Program | Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers | Federal Lands to Parks

Hydropower Relicensing Program | National Trails System |  Urban Park and Recreation Recovery

Land and Water Conservation Fund | Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program

The Update informs Department of the Interior staff, organizational partners, and friends about the program successes and activities of the National Park Service Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Programs. For more details, please contact the staff person involved with each project.

This e-newsletter may be copied or redirected. Our staff would be pleased to assist your editor in adapting each story for your publication; for more information, please call (202) 354-6918 or e-mail [email protected].
Images courtesy National Park Service.

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