Executive Summary The small towns and cities between Cleveland and Pittsburgh are home to some of America’s richest industrial heritage and history. Innovations in 19th-century transportation unlocked the region’s potential, delivering new people and new economies, and fueling westward development and a booming industrial market nationwide. As these economies took hold, the “industrial heartland” emerged—from the coal mines of West […]

The most important legal protections available to trails are the Recreational Use Statutes enacted in some form by all 50 states. These statutes typically limit the liability of landowners and managers who invite the public onto their land for recreational uses and do not charge a fee. Where a Recreational Use Statute is applicable, the […]

Discover how trail managers are embracing new solutions to help mitigate the economic, environmental and infrastructural impacts of natural disasters and ensure long-term climate and community resiliency.  This article was originally published in the Winter 2020 issue of Rails to Trails magazine.

Why predict the cost of the network? The Capital Trails Coalition seeks to create an 800-miles-plus world-class network of multiuse trails that are equitably distributed throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region. The trail network is a key strategy in an effort to create a healthier, more connected populace. With the third-highest amount of traffic in the nation, […]

More than half of all trips in the United States are within a 20-minute bike ride or less, and more than one in four trips are within a 20-minute walk or less, according to the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. Even so, the majority of these short trips are taken by automobile. Across rural, suburban and […]

Transportation in communities across America is changing with the advent of many small and light personal-mobility options, which typically run on electric motors, such as electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes), e-scooters (scooters) and hoverboards. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) offers this perspective to assist communities, trail managers and policy makers in making decisions about how best to manage these devices […]

In 2017, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) was funded by the William Penn Foundation to advance planning and development of a trail along the Richmond Industrial Track Rail Corridor in the Kensington, Fairhill and Port Richmond communities. A $1.8 million corridor cleanup by Conrail, the adjacent rail road, with the City of Philadelphia created an opening for […]

Signage is an important feature of any trail, helping inform trail users where they are and where they are going, ensuring their safety, and pointing out amenities and landmarks to make the experience more enjoyable. For trail networks, signage takes on added importance, unifying individual trails under a common brand and elevating their visibility as […]

Signage is an important feature of any trail, helping inform trail users where they are and where they are going, ensuring their safety, and pointing out amenities and landmarks to make the experience more enjoyable. For trail networks, signage takes on added importance, unifying individual trails under a common brand and elevating their visibility as […]

The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail is a developing 101-mile trail that connects dozens of Northeast Ohio communities. With 87 miles on the ground, this trail is an important economic asset in the region and a critical link in the Cleveland to Pittsburgh corridor, part of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s 1,500-miles-plus regional trail […]