Trails

American Trails' webpage summarizes the Americans with Disabilities Act provisions regarding public trails and use of "other power-driven mobility devices". PDF represents the site as of 9/12/2011.

This 52-page booklet provides "a resource for planners, agencies and advocates on trails along active railroad corridors."

The Benefits of Pennsylvania Greenways Report will be used as a foundation for future communication and outreach efforts focusing on educating the general public regarding the benefits that are and will continue to be provided by Pennsylvania greenways.

This is a case study of the creation of an interpretive trail in Chester County. This project established over 27 acres of new wetlands, bringing the total wetland acreage to over 46 acres on the site.

The purpose of this manual is to encourage citizens, civic organizations, governments and private enterprise to collaborate more effectively on greenway and trail development. It is intended to provide information and resources specific to Pennsylvania for greenway and trail planning, acquisition, construction and management.

This is a case study of Duff Park, which came into being via a partnership between the state, Murrysville, multiple community organizations, and various individuals. The park now includes a nature preserve containing an important old-growth deciduous forest and five miles of trails.

GIS map shows Pennsylvania land and water trails as well as locations of farm stands and markets.

This chapter is organised to address several objectives:

Walking is the key to numerous health benefits that are life-changing. Benefits such as a healthy body weight, lower blood pressure, and even an improved mental outlook. But walking sounds so...pedestrian. So American Hiking Society encourages walkers and would-be-walkers to mix it up a little and go for a hike—even an urban hike.

Major takeaways from from the research that went into the tookit are: • There are tangible and intangible barriers that keep some individuals and whole communities from participating in planning processes; • Language barriers, demands of jobs and family, inflexible schedules, and limited transportation options can keep people from participating in community meetings and events; • The struggle to be heard, the belief that one’s experience will not be taken seriously, and the lack of familiar faces at public meetings are realities that keep some communities from feeling included in planning processes. 59 pages

This case study of the Lardner’s Point Park project in Bucks County discusses the initial component of a new public greenway along the North Delaware riverfront and the collaborative efforts of local and state resources involved in the funding and planning of the project.

<p>A landowner may be sympathetic to a trail organization wanting to maintain a trail running through the landowner&rsquo;s property. However, the landowner may rightfully have qualms about making any long-term commitment to public use. The Model Trail License Agreement is a tool that gives landowners the flexibility to allow a trail while explicitly ensuring that no long-term obligation is being established and providing for easy termination of the permission if the trail use is not working out to the owner&rsquo;s satisfaction. (WeConservePA model document.)</p>

This online toolkit lays out steps along a pathway to help make your town a great place to live, visit, and explore the outdoors. It is intended to be an entry-level website for use by self-motivated communities. It will encourage outdoor and nature-based community development by providing easy to access educational content, inspiring case studies, best practices, tools, templates, and links to available resources.

Annual reports about the state of trails in Pennsylvania compiled by WeConservePA on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Council.

This guide presents a compilation of best practices and guidelines for the planning, design, construction, and management of non-motorized trails that are both physically and environmentally sustainable. It also presents techniques for developing trails that create desirable and enjoyable experiences for trail users.

Study takes an inventory of trail gaps across Pennsylvania.

Comprehensive guide about the role of municipalities in protecting the Appalachian Trail, which is cooperatively managed by the National Park Service and other federal and local entities.

This guidebook presents ways that municipalities can address trail and path planning in their comprehensive plan, official map, zoning ordinance and subdivision and land development ordinance. It includes excerpts from ordinances and detailed drawings on how trails and sidewalks are to be constructed.

A property owner may convey to others the rights to create, maintain, and use a trail on their property without giving up ownership and enjoyment of the land through which the trail passes. WeConservePA guide. 14 pages.

How can trail groups, local governments, and land trusts responsibly plan, develop, and operate trails that are accessible by all people, including those with limited mobility? What are best management practices? What is legally required? When is universal accessibility not appropriate? This manual addresses these questions in detail. The first edition of this manual was published under the title "Universal Access Trails and Shared Use Paths: Design, Management, Ethical, and Legal Considerations" in 2014. WeConservePA guide. 133 pages.

This report is the result of a collaboration between Montgomery County’s open-space board and parks, trails, and historic sites advisory board. The two boards have reviewed the network of publicly available park, trail, natural, and historic assets in Montgomery County and identified opportunities to expand, enhance, protect, and connect those assets. The recommendations presented in this report are consistent with the goals and actions put forth in Montgomery County’s Montco 2040 comprehensive plan and are intended to provide the county commissioners with useful strategies as they consider and prioritize future open space opportunities, expenditures, and programs

Recreational use of rivers and trails can bring new visitors to nearby communities. This guide is designed to help leaders in these communities take advantage of the economic opportunity that rides or walks into town. It will help you transform your town into a more inviting and memorable tourist destination, and in the process, make your town a better place for your own residents to live, work and play. Trail Towns will take you through an organization process; help you work with or create a local group focused on downtown revitalization; give you the tools to identify what your town needs to become a Trail Town; give you ideas as you start your town’s revitalization; and give you tips on how to make your hard work last over time.

This manual helps the reader implement a trail user survey and determine the economic impact a trail has on local communities. It discusses how to establish project goals, determine who to interview, choose a data collection methodology, create a questionnaire, collect and analyze data, and produce a report.

This trail assessment form and trail management objective worksheet accompany the guide Pennsylvania Trail Design and Development Principles.

The Heritage Rail Trail County Park was officially opened in August of 1999. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of the users of the rail trail and to determine the economic impact of the trail on York County.