Fwd: East Coast Greenway News OnLine

Sun Dec 22 00:31:13 CST 2002

Regarding the lead story.  Senator John Warner was one of the 23 East
Coast Senators who endorsed federal agency assistance to implement the
East Coast Greenway.  Senator George Allen declined to give his
endorsement.--Allen Muchnick

-----Original Message-----
Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 2:45:33 PM
From: ecga at greenway.org
Subject: East Coast Greenway News OnLine

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==== ECG NEWS ON-LINE ====
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issue #4
December 18, 2002

ECGA memberships and mile sponsorships make great holiday gifts!

In This Issue:

~ East Coast Senators Endorse the ECG
~ ExxonMobil Sponsors the Greenway
~ Advocacy in DC
~ Maine Line
~ Mass Progress
~ Georgia On Our Minds
~ Motion in NH
~ More Trail in NC
~ Get Your Trail on the Map! (literally)

EAST COAST SENATORS ENDORSE THE ECG
   On November 26, 2002, Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Senator
Susan Collins of Maine sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to
support the East Coast Greenway by directing the Departments of Interior,
Agriculture, Transportation, Defense, Health and Human Services, EPA and
Homeland Security to collaborate to complete the East Coast Greenway.  The
ECG would be a priority for discretionary funding and technical assistance
programs administered by each agency.  A remarkable twenty-three of the
thirty east coast senators signed the letter in a show of bipartisan
support.
   "To have 23 Senators signed on, more than 75% of the eligible
signatures, almost one quarter of the US Senate, both parties and all
ideologies, to agree on one subject is an amazing feat," said David
Dionne, East Coast Greenway Alliance chairman.
   The letter also requests the President's presence at the 2003
Inauguration of the ECG, in Washington, DC (more about this in the next
article).
   To read the text of the letter and see the complete list of signers,
visit http://www.greenway.org/Senate_Letter.pdf.

EXXONMOBIL SPONSORS THE INAUGURAL EVENT
   The ExxonMobil Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the noted energy
company, recently granted the ECGA $10,000 in support of our 2003
Inaugural Event.
   The Inaugural Event will take place on the Mall in Washington, DC on
June 5, 2003.  Invitees include President Bush, his Secretaries of Health
and Human Services, Interior, and Transportation, the Director of the
National Park Service, and all members of the Senate and House
representing the states and districts through which the East Coast
Greenway passes.
   By inaugurating the ECG when it is 20% complete with an event at the
approximate halfway point between Key West and Calais, Maine, the ECGA
will bring added attention to the projects in the pipeline that comprise
the Greenway as well as the issues - public health, transportation choice,
sustainable tourism - that gave rise to the ECG vision in 1991.
   More information on the Inaugural Event will be made available in this
electronic newsletter as well as the ECG print newsletter and the ECGA
website as the date approaches.

ADVOCACY IN DC
   Each spring, the American Hiking Society (AHS) and the League of
American Bicyclists (LAB) serve the nation's hikers and bicyclists by
organizing a week when advocates can come to Washington, DC to talk with
government officials about the importance of walking and cycling
facilities and programs for Americans.
   From AHS:  The American Hiking Society invites you to participate in
our annual Hike the Hill: Trails Advocacy Week, scheduled for March 2 - 5,
2003.  This is an opportunity for you to talk directly to the
policy-makers here in Washington, DC about your trails and projects.... 
Our advocacy focus for 2003 includes full funding for trails within the
National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management
and other trail-related legislation and policies such as reauthorization
of transportation funding legislation (TEA-21).  For more information,
visit http://www.americanhiking.org/policy/advo_week.html.
   From LAB:  The League will host the 2003 National Bike Summit March 5-7
in Washington, DC.  A number of critical advocacy issues will be on the
agenda including a national Safe Routes to School program and
reauthorization of TEA-21, the federal transportation bill.  Panels and
programs will focus on achievements, challenges and opportunities for
bicycling around the country as well as the national agenda.
   "2003 is the year to make it happen.  It is critical that we all come
together to educate each other and Congress on the issues important to
preserving and advancing bicycling interests," said League Executive
Director Elissa Margolin.  "We have terrific momentum from the 2001 and
2002 Summits, but we need even greater involvement from League members,
advocates, local bicycle retailers and the bike industry in next year's
Summit to achieve the progress we are all striving for," added League
President Chris Kegel. Visit http://www.bikeleague.org for more
information on the 2003 Summit.

MAINE'S EASTERN TRAIL / AMTRAK LOOP
   From John Andrews, Chairman of the Eastern Trail Alliance:
   "On Sunday, October 27, six Eastern Trail Alliance (ETA) trustees and
supporters including Tony Barrett, ECGA Trustee, checked out Amtrak's
"Bikes-on-Board" system.  Our Portland - Wells loop ride tested Amtrak's
8:45 a.m. service.  We completed the loop by biking the Eastern Trail (ET)
from Wells to South Portland.  We explored our way through Portland to the
Amtrak station.  Amtrak's train crew was fantastic.  It really understands
customer service.  We halped load our bikes into the cabbage car [the
cabbage car is a locomotive car without an engine, in which baggage can be
carried] before anyone boarded the passenger cars.  We were even
early-boarded.  Biking back, everyone agreed that the ET route is
beautiful.  The ET signs are great, and the 48-mile ride back to
Portland's Amtrak station made for an awesome day.  Portland Trails and
Portland ETA members are defining the best route from the Casco Bay Bridge
to the train station.  It's almost ready to publish.  See http!
://www.easterntrail.org/outings5.html for trip photos."
   The Eastern Trail (parts still in development) is the route of the ECG
in southern Maine.

ACTION IN NEWBURYPORT, MA
   The long-held dream to create a "Border-to-Boston" greenway from New
England's largest city to the NH line along the B&M Railroad right-of-way
recently got a boost.
   Newburyport, an historic coastal town 4 miles south of the NH border
and 45 miles north of Boston, has obtained a license to use the
right-of-way as trail from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA), the state agency that runs commuter rail, subways and buses.
   The trail is already being used by walkers and bicyclists.  Local boy
scouts have been installing benches and landscaping the trail, which has a
compacted cinder-and earth surface.
   Local advocates hope that the Newburyport agreement can serve as a
model for other towns along the right-of-way, and that we will soon see
walkers and cyclists enjoying the historic corridor all along the North
Shore.

COASTAL GEORGIA GREENWAY
   The Coastal Georgia Greenway (CGG), a planned 300-mile network of paths
for feet, bikes, horses and paddleboats along Georgia's coast, is
progressing.  Approximately 140 miles of the CGG will become the East
Coast Greenway route from the South Carolina border to Florida.
   Demonstration projects have been selected for each of the six coastal
counties through which the CGG courses.  A public awareness and capital
campaign is underway to raise $1.25 million to match state and federal
grants to be applied for in the coming year.  This should raise $6 million
for construction of the demonstration projects.  Construction documents
are being completed for these demonstration projects and funding is in
place for Phase 1 construction in two counties.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PUSH
   While an interim on-road route through NH has already been designated,
progress on the off-road route has been slow.  Now, the Town of Seabrook,
through its Board of Selectmen and Conservation Commission, has embraced
the East Coast Greenway concept and wishes to move ahead with the
conversion of the abandoned Boston & Maine Railroad right-of-way through
their town.  Local activists are at the beginning stages of rallying the
troops to push the state for the funding needed to make this a viable
local resource.  One third of the 16-mile right-of-way sought for trail
use is publicly owned, with the remainder being used minimally for freight
traffic.  To get on board, contact Krystina Arrain at krysiu at netzero.net.

NC's DUNN-ERWIN TRAIL
   Years ago, the two central NC towns of Dunn and Erwin existed like
conjoined twins, blue-collar industrial towns joined at the railroad.
   Located in cotton country, Erwin, once the "Denim Capital of the
World", saw the denim mill move operations to Mexico in 2000.  Having lost
its primary employer, the town is now focusing on tourism to rebuild the
local economy.
   The City of Dunn was settled some 110 years ago as a logging town and
turpentine distilling center. Today Dunn's economy is grounded in
agriculture, manufacturing, distribution, and a growing tourism industry.
   The rails on the old Aberdeen & Rockfish line were removed in February
2001.  A master plan was drawn up by graduate architecture students at
N.C. State University and presented in the spring of 2001.  The 5.3-mile
trail project received a variety of grants, including $50,000 from the
National Recreational Trails Program and $40,000 from the N.C. Department
of Transportation.  The Dunn-Erwin Trail officially opened in June, 2002.

GET YOUR TRAIL ON THE MAP!
   Delorme, the company whose "Street Atlas USA" is a very popular mapping
CD-ROM, has an incomplete trail database and often doesn't label those
trails that make it onto their maps.  Of the two popular on-line mapping
services, Mapquest.com does not include trails at all, while
Earthamaps.com (a Delorme service) has a limited number and labels none of
them.
   Bill Davies, a director of the Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trail
Association and long-time friend of the East Coast Greenway Alliance,
suggests that trail users contact these companies with the information
they will need to include trails on upcoming versions.
   To add your trail to Delorme Street Atlas USA and Earthamaps.com, email
necessary information to data at delorme.com or mail it to Delorme, 2 Delorme
Drive, Yarmouth ME 04096.
   Mapquest.com does not currently accept trail information.  However,
they do have a suggestion box, where you can advise them to incorporate
trails into their maps.  To do so, go to
http://www.mapquest.com/about/comments.adp.  If they get enough emails
from trail advocates, they just might change their minds!

~~~~~~~~~~

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Thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~

ECG News On-Line is a publication of the East Coast Greenway Alliance, a
national not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting the
establishment, preservation, sound management, and safe use and enjoyment
of the East Coast Greenway trail network, an urban trail linking all major
cities from Maine to Florida.

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