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published Feb 2014

Safe Routes to Everywhere

by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC)

Transportation connects people and places. It provides access to jobs, education, shopping and recreation. More than one-quarter of all trips we make are less than a mile — an easy walking distance — and nearly one-half of all trips are within three miles — an easy biking distance. Yet, we make more than 78 percent of these short trips by car.


published Jun 2016

San Francisco Bay Trail Design Guidelines and Toolkit

These guidelines offer direction and define goals to facilitate the design and development of a San Francisco Bay Trail system that is safe, connected and continuous; provides a positive user experience that encourages people to use the trail; and maximizes access to and use by the broadest spectrum of people possible.


published May 2016

San Jose Trail Program Strategic Plan

by City of San Jose - Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services

While the Trail Program has identified and documented 133 miles of potential trails, the Strategic Plan is focused on delivery of the immediate 100-mile goal in the most cost effective and efficient manner.


published Jan 1999

Shared-Use Path Design

A shared-use path serves as part of a transportation circulation system and supports multiple recreation opportunities, such as walking, bicycling, and inline skating. A shared-use path typically has a surface that is asphalt, concrete, or firmly packed crushed aggregate.


published Jul 2006

Shared-Use Path Level of Service Calculator and Users Guide

by Federal Highway Administration

The purpose of this guide is to introduce practitioners and others to: 1) the findings of our study on the quality of service on trails; 2) a new analytical tool called the Shared-Use Path Level of Service (LOS) Calculator, and 3) potential implications for trail design.


published Feb 2018

Sheepskin Trail Feasibility Study

by Gibson-Thomas Engineering

The Sheepskin Trail, a rail-trail project is a proposed 34 mile bicycle/pedestrian path that will extend from Dunbar Township to Point Marion Borough at the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state line. The intent of this study update is to utilize and update the 1999 Feasibility Study as necessary based on changes to the trail corridor that have occurred in the past 18 years.


published Jun 2021

Signage Solutions for Every Trail System

by Emily McKinney with Pannier Graphics

Pannier is the leading manufacturer of signs, panels, exhibit bases, and frames. With a full line of exhibit bases, there is a product for every trail and wayside application.


published Aug 2018

Signs and Etiquette for Shared-use Urban Trails

by Stuart Macdonald

Encouraging different types of users to share the trail is just as important on urban trails as it is on backcountry trails.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Signs for the Times

Introduction to various aspects of implementing a wayfinding program.


published Jan 2010

Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design

Exhibitions are complex presentations that convey concepts, showcase objects, and excite the senses. However, as museums recognize the diversity within their audiences, they realize that exhibitions must do more: exhibitions must teach to different learning styles, respond to issues of cultural and gender equity, and offer multiple levels of information. The resulting changes in exhibitions have made these presentations more understandable, enjoyable, and connected to visitors’ lives.


posted Feb 19, 2018

So You Want to Build a Bike Park?

Learn how to plan and develop a bike park in your community.


posted Feb 19, 2018

Something for Nothing, Something for Everyone

Some of America’s most exciting and interesting trail destinations are hidden in plain sight, unrecognized by the communities that they link, often with existing infrastructure.