Trails advocate works for more trail connections
(Continued)

Right now, she says, Maryland has 800 miles of trails. Her vision, which coincides with the state's Trails Strategic Implementation Plan (TSIP) calls for the building of more trails and the development of a system in which they all connect with each other.

"If they're there, people will use them,"she says, noting that "25 percent of all Marylanders live within a half-mile of a trail."

In addition to augmenting a healthy lifestyle and providing venues for recreation, trails present a mobility option, she says. "They connect people to where they live, work and play.”

Trails also present communities with opportunities for gaining positive economic impact, she adds. In Western Maryland, Cumberland and Frostburg are two examples of "trail towns. "Such towns offer incentives for people who are biking or hiking along a trail to stop off and visit. "These towns have learned how to package themselves for trail users," she says.

Trail towns offer services, such as places to repair a bicycle tire or wash off a muddy bike. Retailers offer customers an option to have their purchases mailed. The trail-town concept allows towns to integrate themselves into the experience of a particular trail.

Federal funds
One of Ramsey's major tasks is to help MDOT distribute the approximately $11 million it receives annually from the federal government to fund trails in the state. "Local jurisdictions compete for the money," she says. The federal government views the funds as allocations for transportation projects.

"Sylvia is an extremely valuable and knowledgeable resource for communities that wish to develop or build trails," says Hannah L. Byron, assistant secretary for Tourism, Film and the Arts. "She has a passion for trails and she is Maryland's recognized authority on them."

These days, Ramsey is bullish about the direction of trail development in Maryland despite the recession. "We're looking to do more outreach in getting the word out about trails," Ramsey says. "I'm also looking at the possibility of a regional summit – a joint trails conference for Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.”