Shenandoah Valley Rail Trail Exploratory Partnership

You and your community will have access to an amenity that has proven time and again a valuable health benefit. Folks polled on their use of the GreenBelt in Georgia reported the trail “makes it easier for them to find time to exercise, allows them to get more exercise than before it was available, increases their enjoyment of doing moderate or vigorous physical activity and leaves them feeling like they are in a better state of health and/or physical ability than they were before they started using the trail.” (source)

In most cases there is a property value increase associated with proximity to a trail, especially a trail viewed as an iconic destination and even more so when the trail design takes landowner privacy into consideration (which is the intent of our partnership!). For example, home buyers ranked proximity to a trail second in importance out of 18 possible neighborhood amenities when shopping for a house. (source)

We’ve commissioned an economic impact study to predict how localities along the corridor might benefit from a mixed-use trail. In the meantime, we’re confident towns and counties will experience a healthy revenue boost based on examples across the country. In Virginia, the High Bridge Trail through Farmville was predicted to have an initial economic impact between $1-2 million when it opened in 2012. In the most recent 2018 study, it was reported to have an impact of $6.5 million. (source/source)

Related to above, existing tourism related businesses should experience a boost and doors will open for new rural, small-town compatible businesses. For example, the Mispillion River Greenway in Milford, Delaware, is credited with inspiring downtown reinvestment and a net gain in new businesses, with more than 250 people now working in a downtown that was nearly vacant 10 years ago. (source)

Rail corridors are an important part of our near and distant past, with the origins story of this corridor through the Valley dating all the way back to pre-Civil War 1850. As it stands, the right-of-way, in an unused state, is the very worst use of the land and doesn’t honor its past importance in the bordering communities’ vitality. Imagine the corridor rebirthed as a connection between important historic and iconic natural resources and an opportunity to keep its history alive for generations to come.