The Great American Rail-Trail

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Last July I was privileged to be a driver for a team that rode in RAGBRAI, the annual party…bike ride across Iowa. This was a great event for a blogger with interest in rural communities to be involved in. Although I wasn’t able to stop in each of the towns that my riders rode through, I made many stops along the driver’s route that paralleled the bikers route to gather ideas for the blog and see how each community was impacted by RAGBRAI.

Although there is some debate out there whether or not the overnight towns see a net benefit, there are a number of towns along the route that benefit for sure. Specifically, I discussed the financial impact of RAGBRAI in a post last summer. Bicycle tourism is big, especially if it involves a touring event. That’s why rural communities along the proposed Great American Rail-Trail should be ecstatic about the possibility of such a trail.

The Great American Rail-Trail and Bike Tourism

The blog “Curbed” recently wrote a post about the Rails-to-Trails Conversancy’s (RTC) recent announcement regarding their vision for the Great American Rail-Trail. In their post, Curbed talks about the possibility of a nation-wide trail from Washington D.C. to Washington State that  will be a connection of a number of existing rails-to-trails routes.

If such a trail were to become reality, it could be a significant boon to the communities along the trail, especially those who run with the idea. But you cannot just sit along the trail and hope that people stop and spend money along their way. Communities would need to have the welcome mat out right at the edge of the trail. They’d need to have a connecting trail system that leads to the downtown or other commercial areas. Welcome and wayfinding signage would be important.

A town would also need to be welcoming to bikers. Businesses should be providing more than the typical bike tubes found on run-of-the-mill bargain bikes. The appropriate infrastructure, like bike racks, needs to be available. Informational items about the town and the local amenities needs to be readily available.

But these are all details that likely need to have a more detailed discussion in a separate post….or posts.

Regardless, a coast-to-coast trail is an important amenity to have passing by or through your community. It’s actually a cost effective method of tourism development. You don’t have to staff it, paying for someone at the front door or to provide tours. Overhead is also limited. There’s no utility costs to keeping a tour site open, no building upkeep, mainly just the regular maintenance of trail connections. Hence, your benefit per visitor is higher than other types of tourism.

Make it Happen

However, projects like the Great American Rail-Trail rarely just happen. It takes years, decades of work. A commitment, not from just the towns that are in line of the next segment, but of those already on completed sections. Several discussions with local and state representatives need to be had. It’s a daunting task, especially for a limited number of supporters, but it’s a task that is worth the fight.

For more on the Great American Rail-Trail and ways to stay informed about it, check out the website for the project.

Great American Rail-Trail