OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL

People said, 'Build this [Eliza Furnace] Trail and no one will come' …Now commuters use it every day and families come on weekends to blade and bike and walk.  

—Tom Murphy, Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

I thought of that [Theory of Relativity] while riding my bicycle.    

—Albert Einstein

Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

—Charles M. Schulz

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.  

—John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States

Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world. 

—Grant Petersen

Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity.  

—Lord Charles Beresford

If there’s one essential ingredient to creating trails and trail systems, it’s people. All the land and financing in the world won’t blaze a trail if there aren’t people championing the project. 

–Bay Area Ridge Trail Council, In Support of Trails: A Guide to Successful Trail Advocacy, 1993

The world lies right beyond the handlebars of any bicycle. 

—Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles; The Memoirs of an Autophobe, 1973

Bicycle facility planning is commonly thought of as the effort undertaken to develop a separate bikeway system composed completely of bicycle paths and lanes all interconnected and spaced closely enough to satisfy all the travel needs of bicyclists. In fact, such systems can be unnecessarily expensive and do not provide for the vast majority of bicycle travel. Existing highways, often with relatively inexpensive improvements, must serve as the base system to provide for the travel needs of bicyclists. Bicycle paths and lanes can augment this existing system in scenic corridors or places where access is limited. Thus, bicycle transportation planning is more than planning for bikeways and is an effort that should consider many alternatives to provide for safe and efficient bicycle travel. 

—AASHTO, Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, 1991

Blue Trails are an organizing tool that galvanizes citizen support for clean water and healthy riverside lands. They inspire people to protect important habitat and provide corridors for people and wildlife.  While specific protections vary from community to community, Blue Trails are often associated with conservation easements, land acquisition, stream buffer requirements, stream flow protections, and higher water quality standards.

—American Rivers