Greenways can help us recover

The East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA) has a heartening new proposal for economic recovery: a Greenway Stimulus.

The pandemic has taken so many lives around the globe, and it is still not close to ending. It has caused incalculable pain and suffering for the loved ones of victims. In the U.S., as I write this, the reported death toll is crossing 100,000, with a disproportionate impact on black people, and the economy is in dire straits. At this time of unprecedented challenges, one of the ways we hold our heads up is to think about how we can become a better country once the coronavirus finally subsides.

Through three major aid packages, Congress has invested trillions of dollars to provide temporary relief for our economy and a greater social safety net for the tens of millions of Americans who are out of work or otherwise struggling financially. Members of Congress are debating a fourth stimulus proposal, with infrastructure as a major focus.

The Greenway Stimulus, supported by over 140 organizations, would invest $25 billion for shovel-ready trail projects to bring the East Coast Greenway closer to completion. A previous study done by the ECGA suggests that this investment could lead to $250 billion in benefits. And when you think about all the positives of building bicycle and pedestrian trails, you can see why. As ECGA Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano writes:

we have been sharing the remarkable return on investment of greenway infrastructure, supporting 50 percent more jobs per dollar than highway construction and becoming an engine for economic growth by increasing quality of life and attracting active tourists who spend more in communities than those careening by on the interstate. Our latest impact report [PDF] on completing the East Coast Greenway in Greater Philadelphia shows a return of $10 for every $1 invested. And as New York Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver recently said, greenways and parks are necessary “sanctuaries of sanity” in these times.

Greenways can certainly help us recover, and we’ll be a better country when more people can access connected greenway systems, especially those who already face a lack of access to parks and recreational facilities. The Greenway Stimulus is a meaningful large step to implementing that vision.