Authored By: The Circuit Trails | January 28, 2022

Last year, we started a campaign to complete 500 miles of Circuit Trails by 2025. Thanks to trail advocates and enthusiasts across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, we are well on our way! Already, more than 330 miles of trails have been developed as part of our vision to create an 800-plus-mile trail network across nine counties, but more funding and support are needed to make this plan a reality.

The good news is that new federal funding opportunities now exist to help us build and connect more of the Circuit Trails network. In 2021, Congress took several significant actions that will send an infusion of federal funding to Pennsylvania for infrastructure and economic recovery. Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is already flowing into cities and counties, while the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (H.R.3684) will soon create even more funding opportunities in 2022.

As decisions are being made about how best to invest these resources, your county commissioners need to hear why the Circuit Trails are critical to our neighborhoods and our economy. You can take action now by sending a letter today to your local officials, asking them to fund the Circuit Trails as they begin to plan how best to use the new federal funds. To make it easy and save you time, we’ve created a pre-written letter that you can use; simply visit our website, then select the “take action” tab for your county to view and send the letter.

In addition to providing places to walk, ride, roll and enjoy being outside close to home, trails help create new jobs, offer equitable and safe transportation options for everyone in our region, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.To convey how important the Circuit Trails are to our region, we invited trail advocates and enthusiasts along priority trail segments to share what the Circuit Trails mean to them and their community.

Explore their stories, then share the videos and send our pre-written letter to your County Commissioner, urging them to prioritize these available funding sources to advance the Circuit Trails network.

Thank you for your support and playing an integral role in helping the Circuit Trails Coalition bring more completed miles to the region!