Projo Fitness Blog

By Thomas J. Morgan
Journal staff writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The East Bay Bike Path will be designated as a Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trail by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on Friday, it was announced Wednesday by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

The organization said in a news release that the designation will be made formal at an 11:30 a.m. ceremony on the bike path at Thames and Oliver Streets in Bristol.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy will provide signs for the state Department of Environmental Management to post along the bikeway indicating the path's designation as a Rail-Trail Hall of Fame bike path.

The nonprofit Rails-to-Trails Conservancy supports creation of a nationwide network of public trails, many of which are from former rail lines and connecting corridors. Founded in 1986, the organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has more than 100,000 members nationwide.

"Being designated as a Hall of Fame trail will give the East Bay Bike Path the recognition it deserves nationally," Carl Knoch, manager of trail development for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, said in the news release.

Since 2007, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been recognizing exemplary rail-trails around the country for induction into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. Rail-Trail inductees have been selected on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailsideamenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, and geographic diversity.

In addition to the East Bay Bike Path, other Rail-Trail Hall of Fame inductees include Great Allegheny Passage, Maryland/Pennsylvania; Katy Trail State Park, Missouri; Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, Florida; Burke-Gilman Trail, Washington; Minuteman Bikeway, Massachusetts; Illinois Prairie Path, Illinois; Elroy-Sparta State Trail, Wisconsin; Bizz Johnson Trail, California; Monon Trail, Indiana; W&OD Trail, Virginia; and Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trails, Georgia and Alabama.

 Tags  bicycle Bristol RI East Bay Bike Path Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

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