March 2008 In This Issue... National News Shop REI & Long Trail Brewing to Support the ECG! ECGA goes to Washington for the 8th National Bike Summit Ambassador Training a Great Success Call out for a Travel Writer Regional News: New England National Trails Day in ME, NH and MA Past & Future Events in Simsbury, CT Signs of the ECG on the Blackstone River Bikeway in RI Border-to-Boston Trail: A Major Step Forward NH ECG close to agreement with NHDOT to sign the ECG Maine Should Be Big in 2008 Action Alert: Attention Waltham, MA Residents! Regional News: Mid Atlantic Pennsylvania ECG Committee Meeting Notes Maryland ECG Committee Meeting Notes Maryland legislation poised to improve bridge bike/ped access Action Alert: Support the Westchester County Pathway! Regional News: South Atlantic Construction Continues on Cary's White Oak Creek Greenway Local Communities Meet to Discuss High Speed Rail/Greenway Corridor Regional News: Southeast Southeast Regional Report Other News and Resources Bicycle Coalition of Maine Seeks Executive Director Calendar	ECG News Online is a publication of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a national non-profit membership organization spearheading the development of the East Coast Greenway. The ECG is a developing 3000-mile, traffic-free, firm-surfaced route linking cities and towns from Maine to Florida. Staff Karen Votava: Executive Director Steve Bevington: South Atlantic Regional Trail Coordinator Kitty Carter: Office Manager & Membership Coordinator Herb Hiller: Southeast Region Program Consultant Jack Keene: Trail Program Coordinator Kathleen Klinger: Administrative Assistant Kelly McClintock: Donor Program Coordinator Dolores Newman: NJ Committee Staff Mike Oliva: Mid Atlantic Regional Trail Coordinator Eric Weis: Deputy Trail Program Coordinator & New England Regional Trail Coordinator Tanja Wiant: Communications Coordinator Join the ECGA Donate to the ECGA Contact Us
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National ECGA News
Shop REI & Long Trail Brewing to Support the ECG!
There are two easy new ways to support the East Coast Greenway, and have a great time while you're at it! Purchase Long Trail Brewing beer in April: In honor of Earth Day, environmentally-conscious Vermont-based brewer Long Trail is donating a portion of their April sales in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York to the East Coast Greenway. So this April, after spending a day on your local trails, be sure to stop at the store on the way home, pick up a frosty Long Trail brew, and give back to the Greenway! Shop REI from greenway.org: We recently become an REI Affiliate, allowing our website visitors to donate 7% of their REI purchases to the ECG. It's simple - just click the REI logo on our home page, or the one pictured here, and shop at REI as usual. Your cost is the same, but REI will donate 7% of all your purchases to the ECGA! It's a win-win!
ECGA goes to Washington for the 8th National Bike Summit
The ECGA was well represented at the Eighth National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, which was held March 4 - March 6. This year's Summit had a record-breaking attendance of over 500 bicycle advocates representing all but three states. After Tuesday evening's Opening Session, which focused on improving bicycle access and facilities in the National Park system, Wednesday provided a series of seminars on community-based advocacy, transportation funding, improving bicycle infrastructure and similar topics.
Thursday was devoted to individual meetings with Senators, Representatives, and key staff members. With no major transportation funding programs under consideration this session, the hundreds of neon bicycle lapel-pin sporting advocates pressed to raise our visibility by urging membership in the Congressional Bike Caucus, adding sponsors to Rep. Earl Blumenauer's (D-OR) House Resolution to create a national bicycling strategy (H. Con. Res. 305) and Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Complete Streets Act of 2008 (S. 2686). With near universal awareness of the impact of ever-higher fuel prices, the message of the Summit participants seemed especially timely. In a concluding reception, Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and an avid biker, pledged to have bicycling legislatively recognized as a discrete form of transportation, which should be of great assistance for funding future initiatives.	ECGA Trustee Tony Barrett at the Bike Summit.
ECGA Trustees, State Committee Chairs, staff, members and friends gathered at the Summit, and everyone left knowing they had made a very positive impact on our nation's transportation and environmental agendas. - Jack Keene, ECGA Trail Program Coordinator
Ambassador Training a Great Success
On March 8th, 24 volunteers and 10 ECGA state committee chairs, trustees, trail council members, and staff gathered for our first Ambassador Training, sponsored by REI. ECGA staff prepared the new Ambassadors with knowledge, tools, ideas, and materials to advocate for the ECG in their areas. Long-time trail advocates shared their ideas and experiences with the new Ambassadors, and everyone left enthused and well stocked with gear and a mission to promote the ECG. Ambassadors will spend the year attending events and meetings and trying to spread the word about the ECG. The program proved incredibly successful, and we hope to replicate this project in all regions. Thank you to all of our new Ambassadors - you are creating a new wave of enthusiasm for the East Coast Greenway! ECGA Ambassadors from Massachusetts.
Call out for a Travel Writer
ECGA is seeking a travel writer to research and write a series of short guides to sections of the East Coast Greenway. The job would include traveling on and researching the route sections, writing the text, and working with a cartographer and graphic designer to design the guides. We aim to publish eight guides this year, with the first one scheduled for printing in May. For more a more detailed job description, please contact tanja@greenway.org.
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Regional News: New England
National Trails Day in ME, NH and MA
A multi-state event is being planned for National Trails Day, June 7. Bicyclists and walkers from southern Maine, coastal New Hampshire, and northeastern Massachusetts are working on details of this celebration of the East Coast Greenway and the trail projects that comprise the ECG in the area - the Eastern Trail (ME), NH Seacoast Greenway (NH), and the Border-to-Boston Trail (MA). As details come together, they will be announced on greenway.org. If you're planning a National Trails Day event along the ECG, be sure to let us know!
Past & Future Events in Simsbury, CT
A trail symposium was held in Simsbury, CT on March 6, aimed at raising enthusiasm for a trail connection between the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and Hartford's Connecticut River shoreline, via Tarriffville and Bloomfield. This is one of the key missing links in Connecticut's portion of the ECG. Nearly 100 people came out to the event from all the surrounding towns, and there was resounding support for the project, including from several elected officials in attendance. Since the event, the trail proposal has already landed on the agenda of the Simsbury Culture, Parks, and Recreation Commission, and it will be discussed at the next meeting of the town's Board of Selectmen. Connecticut residents: keep your calendars clear! A Farmington River and Trails Benefit will be held from noon to 6 pm on Saturday, April 26th, at the grand opening of the Riverview banquet hall in Simsbury, CT. The Riverview is located at the corner of Rt. 10 and Winslow Place. The event is a fundraiser for the Farmington Valley Trails Council, Farmington River Watershed Association, and the East Coast Greenway Alliance. Fun activities will include a guided bike ride of the ECG route being developed to nearby Tarriffville (see item above), and a flyfishing demonstration. For more information, visit www.frwa.org.
Signs of the ECG on the Blackstone River Bikeway in RI
New signs have started popping up on the Rhode Island portion of the Blackstone River Bikeway, a section of the East Coast Greenway. These amusing destination signs illustrate distances to local facilities along the trail, as well as distances to Calais, Maine and Key West, FL, the gateway cities of the East Coast Greenway.
Border-to-Boston Trail: A Major Step Forward
After many years of great promise but limited state support, the Border-to-Boston Trail (from the NH line to Danvers, just north of Boston) is hitting the fast lane! MassHighway has put out a call for bids on preliminary design of the trail. This is a key moment in the history of this trail that wends its way through 8 different north shore towns. Public access to the corridor has already been secured for nearly half of the corridor. Learn more at www.bordertoboston.org.
NH ECG close to agreement with NHDOT to sign the ECG
Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes, one of ECGA's key partners in creating the East Coast Greenway in New Hampshire, is close to signing an agreement with the NH Department of Transportation that will lead to installation of ECG route markers along the 20-mile interim ECG route from Maine to Massachusetts. Much credit for this pending agreement goes to the Rockingham Planning Commission, which has been leading a team effort to develop the route. In NH, the ECG will be called the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway. Learn more at nhseacoastgreenway.org.
Maine Should Be Big in 2008
Good things are coming to Maine in 2008! Here are some highlights: After many years of anticipation, ground will be broken on construction of the 87-mile Down East Sunrise Trail this spring Work is scheduled to begin in April for a new 1.6-mi piece of the Eastern Trail in Old Orchard Beach A contract has been awarded to HNTB for design of 6.1 miles of the Eastern Trail from Biddeford to West Kennebunk, including design of a new bike-ped bridge over the Maine Turnpike ECG trail markers should be seen on the Eastern Prom Trail, Portland, this year
Action Alert: Attention Waltham, MA Residents!
Your voice is needed now to help develop the East Coast Greenway in your city! A funding request to build the Wayside Rail-Trail (the local name for the Mass Central Rail-Trail, and a segment of the ECG) has been made to Waltham's Community Preservation Committee. Local pro-trail voices need to be heard by the Committee and the City Council before they act on the proposal. To see the Committee docket, click here and scroll down to the Community Preservation Committee section. To get contact information for you city council member, click here. To learn more about the Mass Central Rail Trail, go to www.masscentralrailtrail.org Updates about this project will also be provided by the e-newsletter of Northeast Greenway Solutions
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Regional News: Mid Atlantic
Pennsylvania ECG Committee Meeting Notes
The ECG put together a packed room for its regular PA Committee meeting in February. Over 20 stakeholders attended to discuss the new PA route map and user guide which is scheduled to be released in September. There was a lot of interest and a decision was made to include an alternate route in the guide which would takes users past Bartram's Gardens, utilize portions of the Cobbs Creek pathway and take users to the Heinz Refuge. The committee also discussed how to activate volunteers to install ECG signs along Bike Route E which is the ECG current travel route in PA. Representatives from Delaware River City Corporation, Delaware County Planning, Pennsylvania Environmental Council and New Kensington Community Development Corporation gave updates to the development of the ECG in their respective jurisdictions. If you would like to become involved with the PA Committee, please contact Dennis Winters.
Maryland ECG Committee Meeting Notes
Over 60 people came together in Havre De Grace, Maryland to discuss ECG routing through Harford & Cecil Counties. The ECG sponsored and coordinated the meeting with the help of Biller's Bikes and the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway. Representatives included state, county and local officials, ECG members and interested local citizens. The large group made great progress, including: Approval of new on-road routing through Cecil County Approval of a new crossing of the Susquehanna River for the ECG that direct users to the Route 40 Hatem Bridge where they will be transported across by the staff of the newly formed Biller's Bikes Routing through Harford County was discussed in detail and the decision was made to hold another charrette in order to determine the optimal on-road routing. It will be held at the Bel Air branch of the Harford County library on April 16. Contact mike@greenway.org for details. Plans for the proposed Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway were outlined and portions of this trail may be included in the long term route of the ECG If you would like to become involved with the MD Committee, please contact Greg Hinchliffe.	Director of MD Bicycle Pedestrian Access, Michael Jackson (left), with ECGA Staffer Mike Oliva at Billers Bikes in Havre de Grace.
Maryland legislation poised to improve bridge bike/ped access
One of the biggest roadblocks to walkers and cyclists wishing to travel the East Coast Greenway between Pennsylvania and Washington, DC is the Susquehanna River, which separates Cecil and Harford Counties in Maryland. The only crossing of the river in Maryland on which it is legal to walk or bicycle is on US Route 1 across the Conowingo Dam, which is narrow and scary. The most logical crossing, on Route 40 between Perryville and Havre de Grace, is a toll facility of the Maryland Transportation Authority and off limits to bicycles and pedestrians. Efforts to provide accommodation for bicycles and pedestrians have run into a major roadblock: to do so is against the law. In conjunction with the local advocacy group, One Less Car, the Maryland committee has been trying to amend that law to permit future bike/ped accommodation. Maryland Chair Greg Hinchliffe met with legislators and Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) personnel and testified at hearings held by State Legislative Committees. At last report, the proposed amendment had unanimously cleared the Senate committee and was awaiting action by the House committee and the full chambers. With any luck, the change in law will prompt MDOT to create accommodation for bikers and walkers to cross the bridge under their own power, instead of having to depend on a shuttle service or taxicabs. - Greg Hinchliffe, MD ECG Committee Chair
Action Alert: Support the Westchester County Pathway!
ECGA Mid Atlantic Trail Coordinator Mike Oliva is leading efforts to build support for a multi-use pathway along Westchester Avenue. He is asking residents to send a letter to the Westchester County Executive to build support for this pathway. The Westchester County Department of Planning submitted an application requesting federal funds for the creation of this pathway in 2006 but funding was not granted. The original application lacked the necessary public support, but with your help we feel this pathway can become a reality. To learn more and to copy sample text for a letter, please click here!
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Regional News: South Atlantic
Construction Continues on Cary's White Oak Creek Greenway
A new section of Cary, North Carolina's White Oak Creek Greenway will soon be open to the public. This segment moves the town closer to linking one designated ECG trail and one soon-to-be designated ECG trail into one continuous segment. The White Oak trail lies between the American Tobacco Trail to the west and an extensive trail system in Wake County to the east. A true community connector, when complete the trail will link 3 parks, 10 subdivisions, schools, one inter-county trail, one national trail. ECGA NC Committee members and staff toured the new trail segment last week to assess trail conditions and to determine a travel route through downtown Cary. A brief report on this trip was reported in the Raleigh News and Observer and can be read at www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/food_fitness/story/1001947.html.	Brand new trail on the White Oak Creek Greenway.
Local Communities Meet to Discuss High Speed Rail/Greenway Corridor
Local and state officials met with citizens in Norlina, NC to review plans for the South East High Speed Rail project and associated greenway trail in Warren County, just south of the Virginia border. Engineers presented road realignment options necessary to accommodate the rail/trail corridor and Steve Bevington, ECGA Southeast Trail Coordinator, presented a virtual tour of the future Greenway. This meeting was the first of a series of meetings planned by the NC Department of Transportation to present design details to local officials along the planned route. Meetings in Vance, Franklin and Wakes Counties are planned for this spring. Contact Steve Bevington at steve@greenway.org for further information.
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Regional News: Southeast
Southeast Regional Report
Ka-ching! Florida's getting it. Ditto Georgia. In an eye-blink - and during noticeably limp economies - the business potential of multiple counties advancing trails together has surged the Greenway ahead in regional thinking. *Florida's Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council (TCRPC) is following up the recent formation of a Working Group for the ECG that, through Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties, will work with agencies for community redevelopment (CRAs), economic development, and tourism to quicken development of the Greenway. TCRPC is preparing a regional planning document that will also tie to a new transportation council and a new corridor study across multiple county lines. *City of Dunedin CRA & Economic Development Director Bob Ironsmith, who grasped the potential for renewing derelict downtown Dunedin on Florida's gulf coast after today's million-user-a-year Pinellas Trail had barely sliced through, later this spring will meet with agency counterparts in the first step to replicate the economic turnaround of Dunedin in Deltona (located between Orlando and Daytona Beach) and in a host of other small cities along a newly forming 260-mile, five-county St. Johns River-to-the-Sea Loop that's currently a focus of Greenway effort. *Next January, three northeast Florida counties will welcome Chatham County, Georgia leadership during a four-day cycling tour that will help metro Savannah advance its trails network while reciprocally focusing attention on trails already in place in Florida's Nassau, Duval and St. Johns counties. All three host counties seek to develop trail-based tourism. Although the Greenway through ECGA's Southeast Region requires still more initiatives, more partnerships, more volunteers and more of its own funding on its way to completion, it's starting itself to look like money in the bank. - Herb Hiller, Southeast Program Consultant
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Other News
Bicycle Coalition of Maine Seeks Executive Director
Learn more at the BCM website: www.bikemaine.org
Calendar
April 2, 2008 Down East Trail Business Conference Workshop about community and economic development opportunities along the Down East Sunrise Trail, Machias, ME.
April 19, 2008 Earth Day Bicycle Ride Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Folkston, GA.
April 26, 2008 Farmington River & Trail Benefit Grand opening, demos, raffles, rides. Simsbury, CT. Proceeds to benefit the ECGA and local trails and watershed groups!
April 27 - May 1, 2008 American Planning Association's 100th National Planning Conference Las Vegas, NV.
May 4, 2008 American Diabetes Association's Seacoast Tour de Cure & Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy Choices Festival. Come visit the ECGA booth!; Portsmouth, NH.
May 13-15, 2008 Natl. Assn. of Recreation & Wildlife Planners Conference Missoula, MT.
May 17-18, 2008 ECGA Spring Meetings Wilmington, DE.
June 7, 2008 National Trails Day
June 11-13, 2008 ACTS: Annual Conference on Transportation Safety Portsmouth, VA.
September 2-5, 2008 Pro Walk / Pro Bike Conference Seattle, WA.
September 27 - October 5, 2008 ECGA Close the Gaps Bicycle Tour Wilmington, DE - New York City
October 4-7, 2008 Virginia Governor's Conference on Greenways & Trails Richmond, WA.
October 25-26, 2008 ECGA Fall Meetings; Annual Members Meeting; Stay tuned for details. Boston, MA.
November 1-3, 2008 Urban Waterfronts 25 The Waterfont Center's 25th Annual International Conference, Boston, MA.
November 15-18, 2008 19th National Trails Symposium Presented by American Trails, Little Rock, AR.
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ECG News Online is a publication of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a national not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting the establishment, preservation, sound management, and safe use and enjoyment of the East Coast Greenway, a 3000-mile, continuous route linking seaboard cities and towns from Maine to Florida. It aims to be 100% traffic-free. ~ Support the Greenway by becoming a member of the ECGA or sponsoring a mile of trail today. ~ Get Involved! Volunteer, write a letter, help spread the word...learn about all the ways you can help create the ECG. ~ Comments? Suggestions? News? Contact the editor at tanja@greenway.org. ~ Learn more about the East Coast Greenway by visiting our website, or call us at (401) 789-4625. We look forward to hearing from you!