Sustainable Reuse through Rails-to-Trails

What is Rails-to-Trails?
What does Rails-to-Trails do?
What does Pennsylvania's Rails-to-Trails office do specifically? What are its goals?
Where can one find more information?

"Rails-to-Trails" is the conversion of abandoned railways into recreational trails. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) was a nonprofit organization formed in 1986 as part of an effort to enrich and connect America's communities with its natural environment (quite conductive to exercise!). Since then, Rails-to-Trails has created a nationwide network of public trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors. The trails constructed serve various uses, from bicycling to snowmobiling to jogging. Today, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, located in Washington D.C., has more than 100,000 members and supporters. The Conservancy has also expanded its offices to locations in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Along with organizing the physical construction of trails, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy takes on other community tasks. It aims to promote policy at national and state levels to create conditions that make all sustainable trail building possible. Rails-to-Trails provides information, technical assistance, and training to local trail builders. Rails-to-Trails also fully supports the federal Transportation Enhancements program, the largest source of funding for trail development.

Additionally, Rails-to-Trails provides leadership to the "trails and greenways" movement. The organization is even currently developing an innovative Regional Trails and Greenways Initiative designed to make trails an essential part of the emerging smart growth and livable communities movement.

Pennsylvania, once the nation's leader in railroad development, today leads the country's rail-trail movement with more than 1,200 miles of open trail. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Pennsylvanian office, stationed in Harrisburg, is working to create a statewide network of trails by assisting planners, partners and trail users across Pennsylvania and into the neighboring states of New York, New Jersey and Delaware. Pennsylvania's Rails-to-Trails staff provides direct assistance to community groups and trail advocates, plus works to encourage expansion and enhancement of existing trails throughout the state.

Thanks to the strong support of Pennsylvanian members and volunteers, elected leaders, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and other state and local partners, Rails-to-Trail's Pennsylvania field office will likely be able to fulfill its core mission of creating and connecting livable communities with trails and greenways.

Please visit the Pennsylvania's Rails-to-Trails website at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/rails/index.html for more information regarding trails in this area, such as Ernst Bike Trail in Meadville or Oil Creek State Park Trail or Allegheny River Trail, both in Venango County. This site also provides very site-specific maps of the area to help you find the nearest Rails-to-Trails site.

Also, be sure to take note of Rails-to-Trails' listed "Benefits of Trails," to see a complete list of trail activities, which includes fishing and cross-country skiing among others! http://www.railtrails.org/benefits/recreation/default.asp