Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable, independent, third-party sources. (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rails-to-Trails Conservancy" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works with communities to preserve unused rail corridors by transforming them into rail trails within the United States. RTC's purpose is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors.

In addition to its headquarters in Washington, D.C., RTC has smaller offices in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. RTC receives its funding largely from paid memberships and receives no government funding. As of December 2012, RTC had approximately 80,000 paid members, the remainder of its funding coming from foundation and corporate grants and major donors.

RTC members have developed programs focusing on urban rail trails and trail systems since 2009, including RTC's Urban Pathways Initiative (UPI), which features ongoing programs in Washington, D.C., Camden, New Jersey, Jacksonville, Florida, Compton, California, New Orleans, Louisiana, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Cleveland, Ohio, and is funded by The Kresge Foundation.

History

RTC was formed in 1986 by Peter Harnik and David Burwell. The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (known as the 4R Act) included a little-noticed section to provide funding, information exchange and technical assistance in order to preserve these corridors and create public trails. The "railbanking" provisions of this legislation allowed disused railroad corridors to be preserved in public ownership rather than sold and irrevocably dismantled. In addition to the creation of public railtrails, railbanking legislation has also enabled the reactivation of rail service along previously disused corridors.

In August 2000, RTC launched a trail-finder website with maps, photos, reviews and other information on U.S. rail trails, trails and greenways. Since 2000, RTC has used GPS mapping data to provide maps of more than 23,000 miles of trails.

In 2007, RTC began recognizing rail trails with its Rail Trail Hall of Fame. The first inductees into the Rail Trail Hall of Fame were the Great Allegheny Passage, Pennsylvania, the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, Florida, and Katy Trail State Park, Missouri. In June, 2012, the Greenbrier River Trail, West Virginia, was the 26th trail to receive the designation.

See also

• Rails with trails

References

1. About Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
2. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. "Our Work | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy". Railstotrails.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
3. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. "Urban Pathways Initiative | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy". Railstotrails.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
4. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. "Railbanking | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy". Railstotrails.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
5. "Bike Trails, Walking Trails, Hiking Trails, Trail Maps". TrailLink. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
6. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. "Rail-Trail Hall of Fame | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy". Railstotrails.org. Retrieved 2019-11-11.

External links

• Official website

• Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.