Community Benefits from Trails & Greenways
With thousands of trails and greenways crisscrossing the American landscape, communities coast-to-coast are realizing many positive results from building these walking and biking facilities.
At Newton Trails, we see six key areas of benefit, each with significant relevance for Newton County. The facts speak for themselves... |  |
Health, & Wellness
As communities struggle with childhood obesity and epidemics of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes in adults, trails provide safe, accessible places to exercise. Public health researchers are finding a clear link between community health and the availability of walking and biking facilities. We’ve inventoried some of the latest research in our Health & Wellness Research Summary.
Transportation
Trails provide more than passive recreation and exercise. By connecting people to places, they serve as active transportation corridors, promoting walking and biking which are healthier, cleaner for the environment, less impact on our roads, and free from dependence on foreign energy. In 2010, the United States Department of Transportation acknowledged these benefits with a key policy statement. For more examples of the role walking and biking can play in a transportation network, see our Transportation Research Summary.
Economic Impact
Across the nation, communities that build multi-use trails and greenways are seeing those investments pay for themselves many times over. Trails put money in the pockets of local merchants and boost sales tax collections through increased tourist spending. They also create jobs and foster a healthier local economy by attracting new small businesses and providing amenities that boost industry recruitment. Check our Economic Benefits Research Summary for an extensive review of the well-documented economic impact trails and greenways have made to America's cities large and small.
Greenspace Preservation
Whether built upon an abandoned railroad corridor, in a protected river buffer, through a preserved forest, or across open meadows, greenway trails save natural greenspace and wildlife habitats. Especially in Newton County, where the housing boom of the 1990s and 2000s consumed thousands of acres of forests and farmland, preserving the open spaces we have left is paramount to protecting the air, water, and other natural resources we depend upon for our survival. Given their positive economic benefits and low environmental impact, greenway trails are an economicaly sustainable way to preserve precious greenspace. For a nice summary of what other communities have accomplished, see the Rails to Trails Conservancy's publication Enhancing the Environment with Trails and Greenways.
Historic Preservation
Across America, trails and greenways provide important connections to the history and heritage of the regions they serve. In the names they take on and the historic structures they encompass, trails provide tangible reminders of the people, places, and events that shaped the landscape and the destiny of the community. In Newton County, we can reconnect travelers at a slower pace with communities such as Almon, Salem, Oak Hill, High Point, Starrsville, Hayston, and Brick Store. The Rails to Trails Conservancy produced an excellent summary of ways in which trails are used to foster Historic Preservation & Community Identity.
Property Values
When an abandoned rail corridor or other right of way is converted to a biking and walking trail, nearby residents inevitably wonder: “what does this mean to me?” Some welcome easy access to recreation and a peaceful retreat from the bustle of daily life. Others, however, worry a trail might impact privacy, quality of life, and property values. In surveys nationwide, however, trail neighbors, real estate professionals, and developers have found many positive aspects and few, if any negatives, to living near a trail or greenway. Our Property Values Research Summary collects some of those findings.
As communities struggle with childhood obesity and epidemics of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes in adults, trails provide safe, accessible places to exercise. Public health researchers are finding a clear link between community health and the availability of walking and biking facilities. We’ve inventoried some of the latest research in our Health & Wellness Research Summary.
Transportation
Trails provide more than passive recreation and exercise. By connecting people to places, they serve as active transportation corridors, promoting walking and biking which are healthier, cleaner for the environment, less impact on our roads, and free from dependence on foreign energy. In 2010, the United States Department of Transportation acknowledged these benefits with a key policy statement. For more examples of the role walking and biking can play in a transportation network, see our Transportation Research Summary.
Economic Impact
Across the nation, communities that build multi-use trails and greenways are seeing those investments pay for themselves many times over. Trails put money in the pockets of local merchants and boost sales tax collections through increased tourist spending. They also create jobs and foster a healthier local economy by attracting new small businesses and providing amenities that boost industry recruitment. Check our Economic Benefits Research Summary for an extensive review of the well-documented economic impact trails and greenways have made to America's cities large and small.
Greenspace Preservation
Whether built upon an abandoned railroad corridor, in a protected river buffer, through a preserved forest, or across open meadows, greenway trails save natural greenspace and wildlife habitats. Especially in Newton County, where the housing boom of the 1990s and 2000s consumed thousands of acres of forests and farmland, preserving the open spaces we have left is paramount to protecting the air, water, and other natural resources we depend upon for our survival. Given their positive economic benefits and low environmental impact, greenway trails are an economicaly sustainable way to preserve precious greenspace. For a nice summary of what other communities have accomplished, see the Rails to Trails Conservancy's publication Enhancing the Environment with Trails and Greenways.
Historic Preservation
Across America, trails and greenways provide important connections to the history and heritage of the regions they serve. In the names they take on and the historic structures they encompass, trails provide tangible reminders of the people, places, and events that shaped the landscape and the destiny of the community. In Newton County, we can reconnect travelers at a slower pace with communities such as Almon, Salem, Oak Hill, High Point, Starrsville, Hayston, and Brick Store. The Rails to Trails Conservancy produced an excellent summary of ways in which trails are used to foster Historic Preservation & Community Identity.
Property Values
When an abandoned rail corridor or other right of way is converted to a biking and walking trail, nearby residents inevitably wonder: “what does this mean to me?” Some welcome easy access to recreation and a peaceful retreat from the bustle of daily life. Others, however, worry a trail might impact privacy, quality of life, and property values. In surveys nationwide, however, trail neighbors, real estate professionals, and developers have found many positive aspects and few, if any negatives, to living near a trail or greenway. Our Property Values Research Summary collects some of those findings.
