Click
here for photos from:
- Aug. 14 Discovery Trek on the historic
Riverton Rail Trail
- A recent workday on the Fore River
Sanctuary
- July 24 Discovery Trek on the Portland
Freedom Trail
- Photos of the new Fort Allen Park Trail
pictures
from our July 24 Discovery Trek on the Portland
Freedom Trail.
Click on photo for a larger image
Fort Allen Park Trail Now Open
On July 1, Portland Trails and Friends of
the Eastern Promenade opened the new Fort
Allen Park Trail. Check out pictures of the
trail and opening event.
Click on photos
to see larger images
Trails.org
is a winner of the 2008 American Trails Website
Contest !
Trails.org, the website of
Portland Trails, has won the Community
Trails System Site Award for
2008
American
Trails continues to hold this contest
to seek out the best websites in the
cyberworld of trails and greenways.
They look for sites that really make
trails come alive, and which provide
effective information delivery, support
volunteers, and engage the public. |
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Active
Transportation: The Way to Go
By Marc R. Hills
What if Portland
woke up tomorrow with $50 million to spend
on walking and biking? It might just happen.
Click
here for Our Active Transportation Case
Statement-“Way to Go! Portland" (very
large pdf- 14.3mg)
As you know, Portland Trails and many other
organizations have worked for years to improve
pedestrian and bicycling resources in greater
Portland . Projects have ranged from basic
education and advocacy to bike lanes and
trail connectors to creating brand new trails
through the woods and across the city. These
efforts have always been , and will continue
to be , an essential element in developing
trails and pathways throughout our community.
But frankly, the projects
are piecemeal, and it sometimes feels
as though they're accomplished at a
glacial pace. Although we have a vision
map, comprehensively connecting trails
and linking them to public transportation
resources such as Portland Metro and
Amtrak can also be tough. More frustratingly,
some projects seem to be perennially
out of reach. I mean, when will we ever find
the money to repair the railroad swing
bridge at the mouth of Back Cove?
Now imagine for a moment if, with
one stroke of a fiscal magic wand,
that all changed. What if, suddenly,
non-motorized transportation became
the trendy thing in Portland ?
What if instead of scratching for
local, state and private funds, the
full force of the Federal Highway
Administration was behind the efforts
of Portland Trails?
Here's the scenario.
The last reauthorization of the Federal
Transportation bill included funding
for an intriguing project called
the Non-Motorized Transportation
Pilot Program. This project provided
$25 million for each of four communities
( Marin , CA , Minneapolis , MN ,
Sheboygan , WI and Columbia , MO
) to develop bike paths, pedestrian
walkways, and inter-modal links to
existing public transportation. In
other words, exactly the
sorts of things that we – sans the
big bucks – have been working on
here in Portland .
The Federal Transportation Bill
is up for reauthorization in 2009.
The national organization Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy (RTC) is spearheading
a lobbying effort to expand that
Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot
Program to fund 50 additional communities
nationwide at $50 million each .
The name of this lobbying effort
is Active Transportation Campaign
2010 (the year the reauthorized funds
would become available to recipient
communities). |
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What if, suddenly, non-motorized transportation
became the trendy thing in Portland ?
|
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Portland Trails is working with other local
organizations and government agencies to
ensure that Portland is one of those 50 target
communities.
 |
Portland could be one of 50
communities nationwide funded
by the Non-Motorized Transportation
Pilot Program.
|
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This campaign has three distinct phases,
the first of which is already well under
way:
Phase I: (2007 - Present) Create
a steering committee and develop of
a case statement. Portland Trails and
members of the Steering Committee will
develop a document that makes the case
for Portland as one of the communities
to receive the expanded transportation
funding. Click
here for Our Active Transportation
Case Statement-“Way to Go! Portland (very
large pdf 13.6mg)
Phase II: (2008-2009) Advocacy.
Submit Portland 's case statement to
our national campaign partner , the Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy (RTC) which will
spearhead lobbying efforts in Washington
, DC . Portland Trails and our local
partner organizations will lobby here
in Maine .
Phase III: (2010 and beyond) Implementation.
Where the rubber (of the bicycle and
sneaker variety) hits the pathways.
We get to use those $50 million to
make meaningful changes in the way
we get around in Portland . |
The important thing to bear in mind is that Active Transportation
Campaign 2010 is not a pipe dream. The Federal Transportation
Bill will be reauthorized. The only questions are what will
the Non-Motorized Transportation funding look like and who
will receive it? Portland Trails and our local and national
allies are working hard to put greater Portland at the top
of the list.
Who is Active Transportation Campaign 2010?
National partner: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
( www.railstotrails.org )
Steering Committee:
City of Portland Planning Department
City of Portland Public Works
City of Portland Parks and Recreation
Maine Department of Transportation
Portland Bike/Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Greater Portland Council of Governments
Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee
Growsmart Maine
Portland Green Streets
Advisor Organizations that will review the work of
the Steering Committee include:
Bicycle Coalition of Maine, East Coast Greenway, Healthy Portland,
and many others. A third tier of partner organizations will
be kept informed of the Campaign's work and assist in our local
and national advocacy and lobbying efforts.
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