Our Priorities

By working together as a powerful multisector coalition, RTC and BATC are leveraging the group’s collective influence and expertise to: advance policy and environmental change; promote equity in active transportation and recreation; share best practices; grow public and private support for trails; accelerate trail development; and build a more diverse, robust trail movement in the Bay Area. Learn more about how it’s getting done!

Current Priorities

The Collaborative speaks with a unified voice for trails in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our current priorities include:

• Strengthening policies and expanding funding to support trails in key regional and state funding programs, including park bonds and the California Active Transportation Program
• Accelerating completion of the regional trail network through best practices, including establishing a regional bike/ped count program and web portal to share data across the region
• Building partnerships and cultivating project champions
• Promoting trail use, and publicizing and marketing the Bay Area Regional Trail Network vision to the public
• Expanding and diversifying the Collaborative’s membership, and securing new resources to support the work
• Advancing BATC’s 12 priority trail projects through planning, education, and marketing strategies that elevate their importance as part of a complete, connected regionwide trail network:

Project Overviews (in alphabetical order):

1. Bay Skyway and West Oakland Link
2. Bay to Sea Trail
3. East Bay Greenway
4. Guadalupe River Trail
5. Highway 17 Wildlife and Regional Trail Crossings
6. Napa Valley Vine Trail
7. Richmond Greenway-Bay Trail Connector
8. Richmond-San Rafael Bridge – Bay Trail Connections (Marin)
9. SMART Pathway
10. SR 37 Corridor
11. Stevens Creek Trail
12. Vallejo Bluff Trail and Bay Trail

Accomplishments

Since 2014, the Collaborative has made progress toward its vision through a number of successful initiatives related to partner engagement, advocacy and trail development. These efforts include:

• Mapping the regional trail network and compiling crucial data to conduct connectivity and equity analyses and prioritize key gaps for completion
• Authoring the Trails Count! report (2016), documenting best practices in collecting trail use data and outlining recommendations for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to create a program model for measuring regional trail use
• Securing MTC support to begin development of a regional bike/ped count program and web portal to share data across the region
• Engaging members and supporters across the region in successful advocacy campaigns to increase trail funding (including Prop 68 in 2018 and the Active Transportation Program) and prioritize investment in active transportation and recreational trails in regional and state plans and funding programs. (including Plan Bay Area and the Priority Conservation Area program)

Get Involved

If you have questions about the Bay Area Trails Collaborative, or are interested in getting involved in the coalition’s work, please reach out to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Western Regional Office staff:

Become a Member or Friend of the Bay Area Trails Collaborative! We offer two options to meet your desired level of involvement.

Why Your Support Matters to the Regional Trail Network

As a Member or Friend of BATC, you can help advocate for and advance the completion of a more than 2,600-mile regional trail network that, when developed, will connect people and places across the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through this bold vision, we will enhance the quality of life in the region by creating more opportunities for recreation and active transportation—which will improve health and wellness across all communities, including those historically underserved and marginalized, reduce pollution and greenhouse gases and promote environmental sustainability.