Economic Benefits | Greenways and Trails

Economic Benefits of Trails

Winter Garden Florida Resources:

Economic Impacts of Trails Webinar (Windows Media File 44MB)

Contact Information:

Jim Wood, Office of Greenways & Trails
850.245.2052 (phone)

Elizabeth Rothbeind, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Tara M. McCue, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
407.262.7772 (phone)

Economic Impact Analysis of Orange County Trails (PDF 5 mb)
Economic Impact Study Fact Sheet, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (PDF 137 kb)
Developer Brochure, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (PDF 5 mb)
Florida Greenways and Trails Council Resolution Recognizing the Economic Value of Trails to Florida (PDF 1 mb)

Other Resources:

Bicycling / Moving America Forward (PDF 4 mb)
Pathways to Prosperity- The Economic Impacts of Investments in Bicycle Facilities (PDF 1 mb)
The Great Allegheny Passage Economic Impact Study (PDF 7 mb)
Trail Towns- Capturing Trail-Based Tourism (PDF 5 mb)
Home Sales near Two Massachusetts Rail Trails (PDF 17 kb)
National Park Service Money Generation Model

Did you know…

Florida’s state trails and the Cross Florida Greenway had the highest annual visitation ever in 2009 with over 4 million visitors, generating an estimated economic impact of $95 million.
The West Orange, Little Econ and Cady Way trails in Orange County supported 516 jobs and an estimated economic impact of $42.6 million in 2010 (East Central Florida Regional Planning Council).
In downtown Dunedin, private business occupancy rates increased from 30% to 95% following the establishment of the Pinellas Trail, which is described as an “economic engine” by the community’s economic development director, Bob Ironsmith.
Trails consistently remain the number one community amenity sought by prospective homeowners (National Association of Homebuilders, 2008).
Builder Magazine listed trails as one of the “lifestyle anchors” common to the ten best selling master planned communities in the nation (August 2010).
The repeated annual economic impact of cyclists has been estimated to be nine times the one-time cost to build bicycle facilities (North Carolina DOT, 2004)
Business owners along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail attribute 25% of revenues to their proximity to the Trail (Trail Town Economic Impact Study, 2008).