This story out of Pittsburgh was picked up nationally, and while it focuses on Pennsylvania much of it is about the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal.
Demagall, now 42, is a symbol of all the trails have meant, not only to bikers and hikers, but to the economies of communities along the way.
He operates Golden Triangle Bike Rental, a booming bicycle rental and touring service, near the northern terminus of the Great Allegheny Passage, which connects to the C&O Canal Towpath Trail in Maryland, then on to Washington, D.C.
Demagall had 20 rental bicycles when he bought the business in 2006. Today he has a fleet of 200 bikes and logs tens of thousands of rentals a year, and provides support services for more than 500 riders a year who come from around the world to ride from Pittsburgh to Washington.
His business blossomed as development of the Great Allegheny Passage brought it closer to Pittsburgh, where it finally landed three years ago.
Well before that, Demagall saw how the trails were energizing nearby communities, he said.
It was the Great Allegheny Passage that changed hearts and minds about having trails pass through communities as link after link of rail trail was completed, Demagall said.
As the trail flourished, concerns about the impact of foot and bike traffic and an influx of people from outside the communities diminished.
A 2012 study pegged the economic impact of the trail at $50 million a year. Not a bad return for a project completed at a cost $80 million to build over 30 years.
If only this lesson could be transferred
He remembers when people in Connellsville pushed back against the trail, predicting it would bring “derelicts” and “thieves” to town.
“I think we've converted most of the locals. They see just how much business it brings in,” he said.
And to tie it in locally
Eric Oberg, director of the Midwest regional office of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, said planners, encouraged by the success of the Great Allegheny Passage, are looking for ways to link a series of trails in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia to create a 1,450-mile loop they've dubbed the Industrial Heartland Trail.
The website seems to be talking about all the great infrastructure instead of how cyclists are getting hurt and ignored. I'll take that as reflecting change "on the ground", which is great news.
Posted by: SJE | June 07, 2016 at 12:40 PM
Thanks for highlighting RTC's efforts in this part of the country. For the 3rd year in a row, my son (age 7) and I will be joining the RTC Sojourn for a 4 day ride from Parkersburg to 75 miles to the East, where the current red line on the above map now terminates. The past two summers, the Sojourn was on the GAP trail, which still had a few gaps in it that have now been filled. The goal is to bring attention to the fact that off-road tourists are of all ages, but tend to be those in the category of people who spend money.
RTC sponsors several different of these tours, which are all lot's of fun. http://www.railstotrails.org/experience-trails/sojourns/2016-rides/
The first year I took my son on the back of our cargo bike - great for him but not so much for me. Last year and this year we will be riding our tandem, but because the trip is out and back, I have challenged him to ride his bike for as far as he can go alone, and then I will lock his bike and have him ride on the tandem. Great bonding family thing and we get to camp out, something hard to do as city dwellers.
Posted by: fongfong | June 07, 2016 at 01:42 PM
When I rode the trail last year I asked a business owner how the trail had impacted her community (Confluence. PA)
She started ticking of business after business that had been created since the trail opened. I think I stopped her after about a dozen. And this is in a very very small town.
Posted by: jeffB | June 07, 2016 at 06:01 PM
That trail network has even greater potential than the map shows - there is also a route in the works, with substantial portions complete, that links Cleveland to Cincinnati.
Posted by: Purple Eagle | June 07, 2016 at 08:10 PM
Bikes are good for business. The greatest ROI on public infrastructure investments.
Posted by: Bayley | June 08, 2016 at 08:20 AM
Topically, the newest issue of Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac (BA 43-500) contains "Ten Best Things About Biking the C&O Canal and GAP from Washington DC to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania" by Adam Perry.
Posted by: Ken | June 08, 2016 at 10:27 AM
Sounds like these trails are doing something similar to bike lanes in the city: stimulating business.
Posted by: SJE | June 08, 2016 at 12:12 PM