Rails-To-Trails Conservancy features Urban Trails

Urban Pathways News and Updates

• Portland, Ore. - Community Cycling Center Director Alison Gravespresented the Understanding Barriers to Bicycling project at a seminar at Portland State University. As part of the project, the center conducted workshops and focus groups with various communities of color, providing insight on how best to tailor programming.

• Minneapolis, Minn. - Streetfilms produced a video highlighting the city's bike-friendly improvements, including trail network construction and trail programming such as the Midtown Greenway Trail Watch.

• Greenville, S.C. - In a newspaper article about safety on the Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail, trail planners Ty Houck and Brian Graham point to various anti-crime design techniques they discussed at our gathering in New Orleans.

• Washington, D.C. - On the occasion of the ribbon cutting for the newest section of the Metropolitan Branch Trail (pictured), we look back at trail planner Heather Deutsch's presentation on construction challenges.

In addition to news from around the nation, there are new resources and opportunities available to your trail:

Apply for RTCA Assistance by August 1
The National Park Service (NPS) Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program is asking outdoor conservation projects to apply for technical assistance from NPS staff. Many urban pathways have received assistance from RTCA, and your project could be next! Visit the RTCA website to fill out an application or contact an RTCA staff member near you.

New Resource: Trail Maintenance Funding
Discover a new section of RTC's Trail-Building Toolbox dedicated to funding mechanisms for trail maintenance. It highlights four urban trails - in Michigan, New York, Ohio and Texas - that have taken different approaches to funding upkeep. The new resource includes documents that can help your trail.
Stay on top of the latest resources by visiting the Urban Pathways Initiative and using our RSS feed . Is there something we're missing or a question you have for the larger group? Let us know in the forums.

State of the City

State of the City - 2010 **Trevor Flynn Lecture at MAG: June 17, 7pm: Re-Envisioning PARK(ing) Day: Idea Generation Workshop at RoCo: Saturday June 26 @ 1pm Exhibition Runs: August 6 - Sep 19, 2010 Opening Reception: August 6, 6-10pm Artists' Talk: August 8, 1pm
State of the City is a group exhibition featuring Trevor Flynn, Amy Casey and Spectres of Liberty. State of the City 2010 engages artists, creative professionals and the public in considering and envisioning the history and PARK(ing) Day - September 17th @ RoCo Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. PARK(ing) Day will serve as a departure point for Trevor Flynn's "Re-Envisioning PARK(ing) Day: Idea Generation Workshop" at RoCo (Saturday June 26th @ 1pm). Rochester Contemporary Art Center will again organize several "Parks" in front of our main gallery on September 17th, including the debut of an all new project by in.site Architecture. PARK(ing) Day website

RochesterGreenway now on Google Maps

I discovered today that the RochesterGreenway (aka Lehigh Valley North Trail) is now showing up on the Google maps bike layer.  

I also scoped out a nice bicycle boulevard route inspired by Richard deSarra's Monroe Bicycle Boulevard Ride.  It goes from Cobbs Creek to Hinsdale to Pinnacle to Crossman to Field to Westerloe to Lac de Ville.    At which point you can jog to Clinton (traffic alert!) to get to the Canal.  I dub this route the Pinnacle -Lac deVille route.

It comes tantalizingly close to Brighton Park, however. and so I've marked an area for future exploration.

Feel free to add to this map!