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The East Coast Greenway is the backbone of an emerging network of trails along the eastern seaboard that can contribute, both actually and symbolically, to priorities, including:
The ECG provides a way for non-motorized travelers to move safely from town to town, where they would otherwise have to use a car or travel on an unsafe road. Here, cyclists cross the Calhoun Street Bridge from Trenton, NJ to Morrisville,, PA, safely separated from road traffic. Multi-use trail development is moving ahead full-tilt all across the United States where opportunities to restore public access to our rivers and waterfronts, to convert abandoned rail lines to new uses, and to make our communities more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly have generated strong public involvement. Citizens recognize that trails can become an integral part of local transportation systems, provide recreational outlets for all age groups, and help promote healthier lifestyles. The East Coast Greenway, with the allure of a long-distance route, can help move local trail projects that play into its corridor ahead. Linking these discrete local trails into a continuous route reaching from Maine to Florida is a challenge of major proportions, but with enormous value to the communities it passes through and to the people who use it. A national recreational resource, the ECG can enhance the local economic value of local trail segments by bringing new users with their wallets to local communities. The East Coast Greenway Alliance joins local trail to local trail, initially through on-road connections and ultimately through the construction of additional off-road trails. The Greenway will serve as a spine route, linking with other long distance trails, like the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail, the Hudson River Greenway, and the C&O Canal National Park, helping to create an interlinked national trail system. It connects city to city, city to suburb, and suburb to rural area. The Greenway will link together such key sites as state capitals, college campuses, local, state, and national park systems, and outstanding cultural, historical, and natural landmarks offering themed travel possibilities. By championing the vision and harnessing the resources to make these connections, the East Coast Greenway Alliance fosters the creation of a national resource which some have referred to as an urbanized version of the Appalachian Trail. To learn more about the benefits of greenways and trails, please download and read these reports: • Local and Tourism Use of the East Coast Greenway. • The Economic Impacts of Investments in Bicycle Facilities. North Carolina Department of Transportation, 2004. This study from the Outer Banks of North Carolina estimates the annual economic impact of bicyclists at $60 million – almost nine times as much as the one-time expenditure of public funds to create the bicycle facilities. 43% of respondents reported that bicycling was an important factor in their decision to visit. • Bicycle Paths: Safety Concerns and Property Values. In 2007 the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transport Authority compiled a collection of excerpts from various websites, journals, and other online resources that listed misconceptions about the safety of bicycle paths/trails and their relationship to property values. • Home Sales near Two Massachusetts Rail Trails. Craig Della Penna, The Murphys Realtors, Inc., 2006. Homes sales were examined in the seven Massachusetts towns that are home to the Minuteman Bikeway and Nashua River Rail Trail. Statistics show that homes near these trails sold closer to the list price and much faster than other homes in the area. • Pinellas Trail Community Impact Study. Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, September 2001. A study of a local trail found that a high percentage of those living near the trail perceive it as an asset, property values were increasing at a rate faster than homes not near the trail, 90% of realtors said that home sales near the trail had increased “somewhat” or “significantly,” crime rates were the same as elsewhere in the county. • Rail Trails and Safe Communities, The Experience on 372 Trails. Tammy Trace & Hugh Morris, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, January 1998. This report shows that crime on rail-trails is not a common occurrence and that they remain much safer than many other environments. The research suggests that converting an abandoned rail corridor to a trail tends to reduce crime. • Economic Benefits of Trails and Greenways. Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse. A summary report of the economic benefits, including results from several studies. • The Economic and Social Benefits of Off-Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities. National Bicycle and Pedestrian Clearinghouse, 1995. A summary of studies on the economic, social, and environmental benefits of trails. The paper includes statistics on real estate, job creation, tourist spending, health benefits, and more. • Implementing Trail-Based Economic Development Programs. Iowa Department of Transportation. This handbook outlines a variety of ways in which governments, businesses, chambers of commerce, tourism promoters, and individual citizens can help their communities develop and implement trail-based economic development programs. • Heritage Rail Trail County Park 2001 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis. Trail Facts, 2002. This study evaluated trail user characteristics and economic impact of a 21-mile trail in PA. According to the study, “The trail has also fostered new business enterprises that have added employment in southern York County. From the Whistle Stop Bike Shop in New Freedom to numerous refreshment stands along its length, the trail has ignited an entrepreneurial spirit along its course. Bill Elmer, owner of Elmer’s Store in Seven Valleys, ...stated that the store gets between 800 and 1,000 trail user visitors every weekend. …There are new businesses in downtown York that are catering to the trail user crowd.” • Economic Impact Analysis: Trans Canada Trail in Ontario. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2004. A study of the economic impact of the Trans Canada Trail in Ontario. The Trans Canada Trail is an east-west trail, similar in design to the East Coast Greenway. The study found that over 42,000 Ontarians can attribute their jobs to the Trans Canada Trail in Ontario’s recurrent expenditures and that a total of about $2.4 billion will be generated annually in value-added income in the Province of Ontario. Of that, a total of $152.8 million will be sustained by non-local user expenditures (representing “new money” pumped into the economy). • The Active Outdoor Recreation Economy. Outdoor Industry Foundation, 2006. This study on the economic impact of the outdoor recreation industry in the United States found that it contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy. • On a New Track. Business NH Magazine, Anita Becker and Stephanie McLaughlin, August 2003. An article on the growth of trails and the involvement of and benefits to businesses and communities. • Little Miami Scenic Trail Economic Study. Pflum, Klausmeier, & Gehrum Consultants, Inc., 1999. This study on Ohio’s Little Miami Scenic Trail surveyed residential and commercial property owners and real estate agents about general trail issues, property values, trail related business activity, and the buying and selling of residential and commercial property in the area. The surveys showed that the trail is considered a valued asset to residential and business interests, can be a strong asset for a community’s market viability, can be used as a market enhancement tool, has improved community pride, has provided a successful way to preserve scenic open space, and has been perceived to increase property values and the economic activity in all the communities along the trail. • How Land Use and Transportation Systems Impact Public Health: A Literature Review of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Built Form. Lawrence D. Frank. PhD and Mr. Peter Engelke, City and Regional Planning Program College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. This review discusses how the design of communities affects public health, specifically through the ways in which the built environment encourages or discourages physical activity levels. • Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. . Thunderhead Alliance, 2007. The Thunderhead Alliance Benchmarking Project is an on-going effort to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and at least the 50 most populated U.S. cities. The report highlights the challenges the United States faces with increasing bicycling and walking. While national data suggest that 9.6% of all trips are bicycling or walking, 12.9% of all traffic-related fatalities are bicyclists or pedestrians, and only 1.5% of federal transportation dollars are spent on bicycling and walking projects. • The Virginia Creeper Trail: An Assessment of User Demographics, Preferences, and Economics. VA Department of Conservation. This comprehensive study of trail user activities estimates that, annually, the Virginia Creeper Trail contributes over $1.5 million and 27.4 jobs to the local economy. • The Waterway at New River State Park: An Assessment of User Demographics, Preferences, and Economics. VA Department of Conservation. This comprehensive study of trail user activities estimates that, annually, the Virginia Creeper Trail contributes over $2.2 million and 50 jobs to the local economy. |