Last week, I traveled to Bozeman, Montana, and met with staff from the Western Transportation Institute (WTI), a division of the civil engineering department at Montana State University.I wanted to learn more about WTI for multiple reasons. They research rural transportation issues. They collaborate with and advise many state and local transportation agencies throughout the U.S. They coordinate the Montana Safe Routes to School program for Montana DOT, and they are also the home of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Technical Assistance Center (also known as TRIPTAC, or TAC for short).
I met with Jenni West, TAC manager, who explained that the entity's previous name, Alternative Transportation in Parks and Public Lands, describes their purpose perhaps a bit better. "We were created to help land managers develop and implement successful alternative transportation projects," Jenni said. "The TAC is a one-stop show for information, training, and technical support designed for resource management professionals who face transportation challenges." Public land managers are constantly balancing the need to provide maximum access to visitors while preserving resources. They are the stewards of some of the nation's most beautiful and iconic places.
Indeed, the TAC is sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration, in partnership with the Department of the Interior, National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Last spring, the TAC coordinator from the Federal Transit Administration, Adam Schildge, contacted me with this request: "Since bicycling provides a healthy, active, and sustainable mode of visitation to public lands -- from both near and far -- I would like to invite a representative of Adventure Cycling to speak to the group briefly about the needs of bicyclists visiting federal lands and some of the opportunities and potential growth associated with this mode of travel."
Coincidentally, we had just begun talking with the National Park Service Recreation, Trails, Conservation Assistance (NPS RTCA) program directors about how to increase accessibility and safety for cyclists in our national parks, and how to build awareness with park managers about the U.S. Bicycle Route System. Many of the U.S. Bike Routes will either skirt national parks or pass directly through them, so having some kind of understanding will certainly help pave the way for gaining agreements with park administrations for route designation. In the meantime, Jim Sayer, executive director of Adventure Cycling, took the opportunity to meet with newly appointed Yellowstone Superintendent, Dan Wenk, who recently vacated his position as deputy director of the National Park Service to take the leadership role at Yellowstone (let's just say he's connected!).
So, off I go next month to Washington, DC, to meet with staff from the NPS, the Fish & Wildlife Refuge System, the BLM, and the U.S. Forest Service, as well as with nonprofit groups, transportation and facilities managers, landscape architects, and recreation managers from the headquarter offices of these agencies. I will visit with them about bicycle travel and tourism; the environmental, health, and transportation benefits of bike travel; and the blossoming opportunity they have by becoming part of the U.S. Bicycle Route System. It is our hope that we can form alliances with these agencies and make bicycling more accessible, safe, and convenient for all.
Wish me luck!
Photo by Ginny Sullivan
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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.
The Detroit Riverfront is significant in and of itself. This was the crossing point for thousands of freedom seekers moving to Canada. The city of Windsor, Ontario (pictured above), directly across the river, has a matching monument marking their safe passage to freedom. The riverfront has gone through a 
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