curt's blog
Spikes Awarded to Deep River Rail-Trail (DRRT) Prime Movers
Perry Conner and Dilys Bowman received the "working spike" award for their DRRT accomplishments. The spikes were found 2009 in Franklinville on Harvey Harman's section of the Atlantic and Yadkin Ramseur Branch when it was motor graded for placing the crushed stone and fines on the old railbed for the trail. Perry credits NCRT with having saved the town's Recreational Trails Program grant and with Harvey's help got the rail-trail on the ground and as the RPO's top non motorized request for DOT funding. Dilys has been active on workdays, prepared numerous maps and information displays on the DRRT, and played an active role within the DRRT oversight group. In a separate ceremony in Pittsboro on November 21st, Mr. Harman received a golden spike award .
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Third Annual Carolina Thread Trail Forum: "Going the Extra Mile"
Carolina Thread will be holding the 3rd Annual Carolina Thread Trail Forum on December 2, 2010. The Forum is geared for trail practitioners and community leaders interested in advancing The Thread throughout the fifteen-county Thread region. Topics to be covered include: Greenway Construction in the "New Normal", Brownfields to Greenways, Natural Surface Trails, You Have a Plan. Now let's build it!, Carolina Thread Trail Grant Tips, Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail, Bridges and Boardwalks 101, Leave No Child Indoors: Making Trails Interesting for Kids, Virginia Creeper Trail, Designing Safe Trails, Roanoke River Paddle: Trail's Local Economic Impact.
Check these links for more on the Carolina Thread Trail or to register for the Thread Forum
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Carol Thomson and AL Capehart Receive Awards at Recent NCRT Board Meeting
At it's recent Annual meeting, North Carolina Rail-Trails was pleased to present a Golden Spike award to Carol Thomson for her long-term efforts in preparing and distributing a multimedia documentary video entitled "Bridging Rails to Trails, Stories of the American Tobacco Trail". The documentary explores the 100 year evolution of the American Tobacco Trail from a railroad crucial in tobacco manufacturing to a unique linear park. The final segments were completed in early 2010 and the complete documentary was formally released at the Durham Arts Council in March 2010. After completion of the proposed I-40 bridge and southern Durham section of the ATT, an additional video segment will be developed. CDs of the documentary have been provided to local school systems. You can view the current version at the bridgingrailstotrails site.
The Carolyn R. Townsend Volunteer Award to AL Capehart recognized over 27 years of service in advocating for rail-trails, facilitating the planning for several rail-trails around the State, providing advice and guidance to trails groups, and serving as the volunteer President and Executive Officer of NCRT since 1990. AL will move from his long standing role as a voting Board member to ex-officio President on January 1st 2011. Board Chair John Morck presented the Award to AL.
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Deep River Rail Trail Receives Clean Water Grant for Conservation Easement
Franklinville’s greenway will soon be a little greener thanks to a $101,000 grant to purchase a conservation easement on 38 acres of land, mostly between the three-quarter-mile-long trail and the Deep River. The project was one of five in the eastern Piedmont that will receive funding through the state Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). In August, town board members approved a resolution to support submission of an application by Randolph County for a U.S. Department of Transportation planning grant to study extending a 3/4-mile long section of the Deep River Rail-Trail west to the Guilford County line. The planning grant would provide planning, outreach and design for a 17-mile section of trail — along the abandoned railbed of the Atlantic & Yadkin Railroad — through the Cedar Falls community to Providence Grove High School and the county line. For more on the Deep River Rail Trail see the October 12th Courier Tribune article.
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NCRT Votes to Support Proposed Active Community Transportation Act (ACTA)
At their recent Annual Meeting on October 9th, NCRT's Board of Directors voted to reach out to North Carolina's representatives in Congress to sign on as co-sponsors of H.R. 4722, the Active Community Transportation Act (“ACT Act”) of 2010. This is a marker bill to be incorporated into the federal transportation reauthorization when passed by Congress and will provide communities with concentrated investments to complete walking and bicycling networks to shift short driving trips to active transportation. By providing communities with the resources needed to build safe and connected non-motorized routes between the places where people live, work, learn, play and shop, the bill will provide cost-effective transportation choices for millions of Americans. The act authorizes a competitive grant program at the U.S. DOT averaging $400 million/year for projects which would shift trips to bicycling and walking. The ACT act enjoys broad support and attracted 60 House signatures (including representatives Kissel, Price and Miller from NC) in the first four months since it's introduction in March 2010. For more on the expected impact and benefits of the ACT Act please see an informative flyer prepared by RTC. Also useful is a Fact Sheet on how the grant program would work.
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Rail-Trail Corridor in Marion Finally Acquired
After years of negotiations with Norfolk Southern, City officials in Marion recenly announced the old Peavine railroad corridor is now City property. The tracks were removed in 2007. The City is making arrangements to designate some parking spaces for trail users and expects to open the trail for walking and cycling in the next few weeks. For more on the Peavine please see the article in the McDowell News.
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Possible Extensions for Atlantic and Yadkin Greenway
In late August, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Greensboro metro area unanimously agreed to extend the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway from its current end at U.S. 220 in Summerfield northwest across the county through Stokesdale. The new pact says the governments of Greensboro, Guilford County, Summerfield and Stokesdale will cooperate on a feasibility study of the extension in partnership with State environmental officials and such nonprofit groups as the Piedmont Land Conservancy and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Planners are starting from scratch with only a general idea that the greenway should follow — where possible — the course of the former Atlantic & Yadkin rail line to Stokesdale, said Peggy Holland, coordinator of Greensboro’s bicycle and pedestrian program. Beyond that, the “A&Y” could go north to Rockingham County or west to Forsyth County, Holland said. It might also include spurs for mountain biking and horseback riding. “That’s the sort of thing we’ll consider in the feasibility study,” she said, adding the first step likely will be public meetings to gather comments. For a small map depicting the possible route and further details please see the 8/26 article in the Greensboro newsrecord.com. Click here for a larger map in PDF format
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Federal Fund Recissions Point to Large Cuts In Transportation Enhancement Funds in North Carolina
In August the Rails to Trails Conservancy reported on an intended move by the Federal government to rescind (i.e. pull back and not spend) the use of some $2.2 billion of unspent transportation funds. They now report that these recissions are in fact happening. In North Carolina it appears that the State has proposed a disproportionately large reduction to funds associated with Transportation Enhancement (TE). While TE funds represented about 2.4% of North Carolina's total transportation allocation, the State has proposed cutting TE funds some 31.7% as part of their recission. TE funds are the nation’s largest funding source for trails, both walking and bicycling and have been used for rail corridor preservation and numerous rail-trail projects over the years. If you believe these cuts to North Carolina's TE program are not what you want our State to carry out, please feel free to contact Governor Perdue and Transportation Secretary Gene Conti. Some suggestions on what you might want to say are contained in a recent RTC Alert .
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Henderson County Authorizes Impact Study of Proposed Rail Trail
The Henderson County Board of Commissioners has shown real vision in calling for an economic impact study of creating a trail on the unused rail line between Hendersonville and Brevard. In an editorial in Blue Ridge Now.com , the Editors make a strong case for the economic and community benefits of a long regional trail and for Federal railbanking of this 18.5 mile "Ecusta" corridor so that it can be preserved for future use as a trail or could be returned to future to use as a rail corridor if needed. “We believe that the development of a trail like this would be an important investment in the future of our region, and will provide numerous benefits for our residents and visitors,” said Chris Burns, treasurer of the group, and a past president of the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce. “The Friends of Ecusta Trail will also focus on other opportunities to connect our communities, and recently participated in a work day to help complete the Estatoe Trail in Pisgah Forest, which connects Brevard’s hike/bike path to the Art Loeb Trail.” More detailed information about the project, as well as information about how community supporters can be more involved can be found on the group's new web site. A September 29th article from Blue Ridge Now.com tells more about the site and current efforts. The opening of the 5.5 mile Estatoe Trail on October 15th is reported in an October 16th article in Blue Ridge Now.com. More information on the trail and the Friends Group can be found in our July 2010 and May 2009 News Archives and by scrolling down to Rail-Trail Initiatives on our Trails and Projects page.
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West Pender Rail Trail Alliance Moving Forward and Will Submit Non-Profit Application Soon
As reported in July, the Alliance is now incorporated as a non-profit. Funds raised at the June 19th Blueberry Festival were used for the incorporation fees, and professional services related to applying to the IRS for designation as a Section 501 (c)(3) corporation. Their application will be submitted later in September. The Alliance has applied for a few grants and has feedback that they may receive a National Park Service planning grant. This would provide the Alliance with a NPS Trail Planner for 1 year. The West Pender rail-trail project was one of seven park projects that made it into the Pender County Parks and Rec five-year comprehensive plan and is supported by resolution in several other local and regional plans. Pender County has dedicated about one mile of trail land in their new Industrial Park and the plan includes a trailhead with facilities. This will be the Alliance's first mile and they are focusing on developing it as a visible first step over the next year. Over the next year they plan to work with the National Parks planner to develop a land acquisition strategy. Earlier this month, the co-founder of the Alliance, Dave Staebler, was presented with a golden Spike award by NCRT for his long service in land research, presentations and a host of tasks related to promoting rail-trail development in Pender County. Dave is moving from NC and AL Capehart presented the award to Dave on September 2. For additional background on rail-trail plans and documentation for this project, please see the 2007-09 report on the Atlantic-Seaboard Coast Line corridor compiled by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the recently completed Concept Plan. For information on future activities of the Alliance please contact Susan Bullers.
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