Here is the press release for the meeting today in Gettysburg. Tom Jolin has gathered the people in the community needed to make the decision to move forward on the Grand History Trail in Adams County.
Healthy Adams Bicycle/Pedestrian, Inc.
Press Release
October 30, 2014
Contacts:
Tom Jolin of HABPI [email protected] 717-398-1144
Carl Knoch at York County Rail Trail Authority [email protected]
Kelly Pack at Rails to Trails Conservancy [email protected]
Economic Impact Summit Held for Grand History Trail
When people speak of bicycle trails, benefits that normally come to mind are health, quality of life, history and environmental stewardship. But to many trail side communities, a strong economic impact has also been a tremendous attribute. Over 30 community leaders gathered on October 30 at the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center to hear a presentation on the Grand History Trail (GHT) economic impact potential.
The Grand History Trail is an approximate 250 mile loop linking Gettysburg with popular existing trails, including Pennsylvania’s York Heritage Trail, The Baltimore-Annapolis Trail and the C&O Canal in Maryland and DC. Half of the GHT is already completed.
Carl Knoch, Chair of the York Rail Trail Authority and keynote speaker for the event, knows this first hand. Their Heritage Rail Trail County Park (21 miles) in York County, PA cost $4.5 million dollars to construct (1990-1999). On average over the past 15 years 37% of trail users come from outside of York County. Average spending by trail users on consumable goods is $2.3 million per year, totaling $35 million over the past 15 years.
He went on to describe how the “Trail Towns” initiative along the Great Allegheny Passage (150 miles) promotes businesses aiming to capitalize on the 800,000 annual trips taken along the rural trail corridor between Cumberland, MD and Pittsburgh, PA. Direct annual spending by trail users exceeds $40 million.
Don Gogniat is a past board member of the York County Rail Trail Authority, retired Chancellor of Penn State York and passionate Grand History Trail advocate. Gogniat called the GHT “mom, flag and apple pie,” a fitting description for Adams County.
The proposed Grand History Trail connects important heritage sites such as the National Mall in Washington, DC, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg National Military Park, eventually going through history rich Adams County. Towns that will be connected are York, Hanover, Gettysburg, Emmitsburg, Frederick, Harpers Ferry, Washington DC, Annapolis, Baltimore and many others on the way.
Knoch described how the GHT will eventually connect Gettysburg to existing trails that attract millions of visitors from across the United State and the World. The current annual usage on completed connecting GHT segments includes the C & O Canal (DC, MD) – 4.7 million visits; Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail (MD) –
1 million visits; Baltimore and Annapolis Trail (MD) – 700,000 visits; Heritage Rail Trail County Park (PA) – 300,000 visits; and the Metropolitan Branch Trail (DC) – 200,000 visits. The Great Allegheny Passage (MD, PA), with 800,000 annual visits connects to the GHT via the C & O Canal. The developing East Coast Greenway from Maine to Florida will also share a segment of the GHT.
Knoch stated that according to the U.S. Travel Association (formerly the Travel Industry Association of America) 27 million Americans have taken a bicycling vacation in the past five years and bicycling is now the third most common vacation activity.
Organizations that helped plan the Grand History Trail economic summit were: Healthy Adams Bicycle/Pedestrian Inc., Main Street Gettysburg, Destination Gettysburg, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg Borough and the Adams County Office of Planning and Development.
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