Rail Trail

Rail trails are important community resources for commuting, recreation, and tourism.  Rail trails are constructed on abandoned rail lines after the tracks are removed, providing a wide, often gravel-coated surface permitting bicycle or foot traffic.  These paths are ideal because many important infrastructure components are often already in place from the railroad, like a compacted trail bed and bridges.

The Lewisburg & Tyrone Railroad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewisburg_and_Tyrone_Railroad) has been decommissioned many years ago, but sections of the old bed have been beautifully reclaimed, such as the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail (http://bvrt.org/).

As years pass from the official decommissioning of the railway, land rights for the path often go back to adjacent property owners.  Trail planners often face a NIMBY opposition from individuals fearing the trail will bring crime, trash, or simply unwanted activity on their property.

The rail trail project is an effort to support rail trail planners with additional resources to make the case for a rail trail.  In addition to focusing on the engineering costs and requirements for preparing the trail, what other metrics could be presented to make a more favorable case?  For example:

• Does the trail knit together small businesses / shops?
• Could the trail have a theme (sustainability, local agriculture, etc) with promoted stops?
• Can it be promoted as a tourism destination?
• Would there be opportunities to rent bicycles, etc?