Spring 2017 news and media roundup

National Greenway, bicycling news

Biking Greenway to climate march: A group of 10 people, ages 21 to 70, discovered the "quite remarkable" East Coast Greenway as they planned a bike ride from their home in Northampton, Mass., to the People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., on April 29. "We realized that we wanted to arrive there gently, modeling through our own behavior a low-carbon footprint as we journey to the march on our own power (we have one support vehicle)." Daily Hampshire Gazette: Activists will pedal to People’s Climate March in Washington  

Bike commuting helps you live longer: "We found that cycling to work was associated with a 41% lower risk of dying overall compared to commuting by car or public transport. Cycle commuters had a 52% lower risk of dying from heart disease and a 40% lower risk of dying from cancer. They also had 46% lower risk of developing heart disease and a 45% lower risk of developing cancer at all." Time Magazine: How Your Work Commute Can Help You Live Longer  

Bay of Fundy sees East Coast Greenway as tourism boon: "One way to enhance the bay as a tourist destination is to hook the region on to the East Coast Greenway Trail that begins in Key West, Florida and runs through 16 states to Calais, Maine." Amherst News Citizen-Record: Enhancing the Bay of Fundy as a world-class tourist attraction  

New England: ME, NH, MA, RI, CT

The East Coast Greenway Alliance has formed a working group for the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Corridor in Maine and facilitated stakeholder meetings being organized by ECG state committee.

• MassDOT has agreed to cover the cost for design of the Border to Boston route segments in Salisbury, Georgetown South/Boxford and Georgetown North/Newbury (7.7 miles total)

• ECGA New England Coordinator Molly Henry was nominated to serve on the Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, with a focus on providing input on the state bike and pedestrian plans.

• $15 million in special bond funding was awarded in March for Hop River Trail in Connecticut (Bolton Notch/ RT 6/44 Bridge), to be completed in October 2018.

• $5M was awarded from CT Department of Transportation Let's Go! CT program for the third and final phase of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail in Cheshire. A groundbreaking was held in April for completion in October 2018.  

Media hits:

• Swampscott Rail Trail (MA) received $850k for acquisition, design, and engineering for a 2-mile gap on East Coast Greenway

• Plainville, CT, Citizen: Study to close Plainville-Southington trail gap expected to be completed by fall

• Boxford Wicked Local: Hemlock Road trail connection moves forward

• Meriden, CT, Record Journal editorial: Closing a gap in the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail

• Maine Today: Hiking in Maine: Moosehorn offers the perfect getaway

Mid-Atlantic: NY, NJ, DE, PA, Washington DC

• The Essex-Hudson Connector Study (previously known as Meadowlands project) was initiated in New Jersey to look at one of the most complex and densely populated stretches of the Greenway. New Jersey's DOT appointed Greenway Tri-State Coordinator Bruce Donald to the Essex-Hudson Connector Steering Committee.

• In northern Maryland, three planned trails are developing in rural areas to close gaps.

• In southern Maryland, routing is being determined from the Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Trail to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. A grant for an initial feasibility study is being submitted by Prince George's County.

• New Delaware Committee co-chairs are Mary Roth, executive director of Delaware Greenways, and Heather Dunigan, principal planner of Wilmington Area Planning Council.

Media hits:

• The Daily Journal: 10 family-friendly places to ride your bike (in NJ)

• New York Times: City Commits $100 Million to Narrowing a Gap in Manhattan Greenway (see rendering above)

• DNA Info: Bike-Only Ramp on Roosevelt Island Bridge Gets $3M from State

South Atlantic: VA, NC, SC

• Virginia & North Carolina Coordinator Kathryn Zeringue is managing a number of events in her area this spring and summer, including a Botany by Bicycle trip to find wild lilies off a greenway in the NC Triangle area (photo above); an upcoming Toast to Trails ride from downtown Durham, NC, to Cloer Family Vineyards for lunch and wine tasting; a pit stop on the Greenway in Durham during bike-to-work month; a monthly series of four-mile group rides through the summer to the Raleigh farmer's market; and more.

• Zeringue has been appointing to the Steering Committee for the Duke Beltline project in Durham

• Roanoke River Rails-to-Trails purchased a 1.73 mile rail segment from Norfolk Southern, spanning from downtown Lawrenceville to US-58, to continue to build out the Tobacco Heritage Trail in Southern Virginia.

• 3.4 miles of the Route 1 side path is under construction in Fairfax County as part of a road improvement project. Construction should be completed later this year.

Media hits:

• Brunswick Beacon: Carolina Shores ponders better greenway path

• Duke Environment (alumni magazine of the Nicholas School of the Environment): Undergrad Courtney Bell (former ECGA intern) Works to Find Environmental Solutions

• News & Observer: Clayton looking to tie into trail project

Southeast: GA, FL

• South Carolina & Georgia Coordinator Brent Buice has held positive meetings with Coastal Georgia Greenway, CORE MPO, and the City of Mt. Pleasant to assess current route status and speak in support of new trail segments. A new 1.2 mile multi-use trail is planned adjacent to US 17 on top of completed sewer line work in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

• Construction is underway on these Greenway segments in Florida: Amelia Island Trail (Nassau County), Halifax Trail (Daytona Beach, Volusia County), St. Johns River to Sea Loop (South Volusia County), Coast to Coast Connector (Brevard County).

Media mentions:

• The Brunswick News: Former land trust executive: Greenway construction needs leadership

• The Brunswick News editorial: It is time to make the Greenway a reality