Below is a letter from the Council for Recreational Trails. Once again, funding for trails is being threatened. We all need to contact our state
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senators to request the continuation of recreational trail funding. Remember, all trails are more than just recreational; they are useful for physical fitness, commuting, recreation, the environment, and more. Each trail that is constructed provides incredible bang for the buck.
Dear Members of the CRT Council of Advisors:
The Recreational Trails Program is in very deep trouble. The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved transportation reauthorization legislation known as MAP-21 that would effectively eliminate the RTP by stripping the program of its dedicated funding.
But all hope is not lost.
CRT and its member organizations have been working to identify key Champions in the Senate with the aim of having an amendment to restore dedicated funding for the RTP added to the bill before it is considered by the full Senate.
Reaching this goal will not be possible without your help.
Now is the time for all organizations and individuals who support RTP to tell their Senators to protect dedicated funding for this absolutely essential program.
The key messages are simple:
- Unless the bill is changed, MAP-21 will effectively eliminate the Recreational Trails Program; and
- Please amend MAP-21 to include dedicated funding for RTP.
Other helpful messages include:
- For the last two decades, RTP has received a portion of the gas taxes paid by users of off-highway motorized vehicles to fund trail building, maintenance and other trail-related projects. More than 13,000 projects have been funded across the country for all kinds of trail uses. This is a very successful program.
- At its current level of annual funding – $85 million – RTP receives less than 42% of the Federal Highway Administration’s conservative estimate of the federal gas taxes paid by America’s nonhighway recreationists. The Senate bill would reduce that percentage to zero and represents a substantial new tax on motorized recreation enthusiasts.
- The return of gas taxes to trail users through the RTP is in keeping with the user-pay, user-benefit philosophy of the Highway Trust Fund. Ending dedicated funding for RTP takes these gas taxes away from the people who pay them. Ending dedicated funding for RTP is bad public policy and just plain wrong.
- The RTP is the foundation of state trail programs. If the RTP loses its dedicated funding, organized trail planning and development will simply vanish in many areas of the country.
Now is the time to act. Write, email or call your two Senators. Here’s a link if you need it: http://www.senate.gov/. Make sure your entire grassroots organization is engaged as well.
We need to show the United States Senate just how many Americans are committed to the Recreational Trails Program. If we don’t act, the very backbone of trails in America may be forever lost.
Please be sure to send us a copy of your message. Thank you for your help.
Marianne Fowler, Co-Chair, Coalition for Recreational Trails
Derrick Crandall, Co-Chair, Coalition for Recreational Trails
1225 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 450
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 682-9530 Fax (202) 682-9529
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Here is an article from the Orlando Sentinel from a couple months ago that shows that Bike trails pumped $42M into Central Florida economy. Why would you not want to invest into Recreational trails? http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-10-17/news/os-trails-economic-impact-20111017_1_bike-trails-west-orange-trail-trail-users
Author
Excellent article (from Florida Biking and the Orlando Sentinel) and extremely revealing. I realize that I am a huge fan of trails, but I truly believe that every dollar spent on trails is quickly and completely returned in many ways including economic development and reinvestment. Many studies have shown that communities that have major trails running through them benefit in both the long and the short term. And that’s not even taking into account the less direct but no less important ancillary benefits such as improved health, improved environment, improved community recreational opportunities and so on.
It is a shame that a few politicians who are in the pockets of the oil industry are trying to stop trail building and maintenance for the rest of us. Hopefully all of you trail advocates out there write to your Senators and ask them to amend MAP-21 and push for increased rather than decreased building of trails of all types including recreational, commuter, urban, rail, etc.
I cannot say thank you enough for posting this article. I’m not sure why I didn’t assume that these types of programs were on the chopping block, it’s so disheartening to hear… however, it’s good to know we can at least still make some pushes. Both you and Florida Biking make excellent points. Senators Lamar Alexandar and Bob Corker are about to get a few emails…
Here’s a copy of the open letter I just sent to our senators – i pulled heavily from the great comments already posted here. Thanks again for posting this.
Protect Trail Funding: An Open Letter to Senators Alexander and Corker
Author
Thanks to you also, Amy. I’m glad to see there are other active trail supporters out there. I also contacted my Colorado Senators. I know they are both supporters of outdoor recreation. I hope they will continue to support trails. Thanks also for contacting your Senators. If we all get involved, I’m confident we can make a difference on this issue.
Kevin, my thoughts are with you all as you come to grips with this …….potential disaster regarding funding of recreation trails. I use the word disaster because, if funding is stopped or cut, there will be many benefits to all that will be lost. Don’t give up my friend. I know how this hurts you.
Barry.
Thanks Barry. I am pretty darned perplexed by the things our government chooses to fund & not fund. It seems like they’re using the current economic conditions as an excuse to cut all the most valuable, useful, & worthwhile programs while continuing to pile money on programs that are already overfunded.
[…] us while we get a little political for a few minutes. Our friends at TrailsNet.com posted a very important update about federal funding cuts to Recreational Trail Program funding. This is an open letter to our senators to keep these cuts from occurring. Many thanks to […]