 |
|
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail Alliance project begins
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has commenced the Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail Alliance project—a coordinated effort to create trails from Lake Erie to Pittsburgh. The Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance (EPTA) project is a collaborative organization of individual trail efforts currently underway in western Pennsylvania. Using as many as 10 existing trails between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie, the EPTA will focus on filling the gaps between these trails and creating a unified route that generally follows the Allegheny River north into Venango County. From Venango County various routes will be explored that continue to Lake Erie. Communities and trail groups have been working independently to create these community connections for years. As part of their on-going efforts to organize the regional stakeholders, the Northeast Regional Office of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) announced their successful application for the EPTA to receive technical assistance from the National Park Service (NPS) through the NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA). The EPTA project was among 61 selected from a field of some 100 requests received in the Northeast Region. “We are very pleased to have the National Park Service provide the EPTA with their time and expertise in organizational development and community involvement for this greenway project,” says Tom Sexton, executive director of RTC’s Northeast Regional Office. “We have been focusing attention on the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail corridor since 2004, when we held our annual Greenway Sojourn along the route. And in 2007, RTC completed a ‘visioning’ document for a network of non-motorized, multi-modal trails between Pittsburgh and Lake Erie.” Through the EPTA project, the National Park Service can help communities and neighborhoods preserve their important local resources, protect river resources, develop new trails and greenways, and create new open space. These projects are locally led with RTCA staff supporting local recreation and conservation leaders. As a national and regional advocacy group, RTC’s Northeast Regional Office will continue to assist the EPTA in developing trail connections beyond the state and municipal borders. It is anticipated that multi-modal trail connections will also be explored that lead into both New York State and Ohio. “The NPS Rivers & Trails program has been very helpful over the years on the Allegheny River Trail project,” says Jim Holden, president of the Allegheny Valley Trails Association. “In the early 1980s, they helped us develop a feasibility study for our trail, and in 2006 they helped coordinate and facilitate a two-day public input and design workshop for trailheads and linkages in the Emlenton/Foxburg areas.” The EPTA has formed a steering committee made up of representatives from RTC, RTCA, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (Western Region) and the Pennsylvania DCNR. For more information on the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance, contact Matt Gilarra, NW PA Regional Planning and Development Commission.
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top Stories
