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Williamsburg Trail Town GAP Case Study High WILLIAMSBURG:WILLIAMSBURG: TRAIL TRAIL TOWN TOWN AA CASE CASE STUDY STUDY OF OF THE THE GREATER GREATER ALLEGHENYALLEGHENY PASSAGE PASSAGE Community Buy In 19 Online Marketing 35 Table of Services 20 Town Signage 36 Contents Restaurants 20 Trail Expansion 37 Table of Contents 2 Lodging 20 Completed Expansion 38 Background 3 Tour Operators, Outfitters, and Planned Expansion 38 Outdoor Gear Shops 22 Trails 4 Medium Term Expansion 38 Other Services 23 Town 5 Long Term Expansion 39 Built Environment 23 Location 5 Project Implementation 42 Urban Triage 23 Existing Assets 6 Project Matrix 43 Zoning reform 24 Greater Allegheny Passage Further Reading 47 Trail Towns 7 Parking 26 Trail Benefits 8 Street Space 28 Trail Town Comparison 10 Street Furniture and Other General Conclusions 10 Infrastructure 30 Trail Advertising 16 Park Space 31 Business Opportunities 17 Public Programming 33 Williamsburg: Case Study Events 33 Applications 18 Passport Programs 34 Trail User Surveys 19 Advertisement 35 BACKGROUND Williamsburg is situated at the translate to visitors from these trails intersection of many local, regional, staying longer and spending more in Trails and national trails and trail systems. town. The trails traveling through Investments in Williamsburg could Williamsburg include:1 WILLIAMSBURG TRAIL MATRIX Distance to significantly-sized Trail Description trail towns near Williamsburg Hiking trail through Pennsylvania from Maryland to New York Pine Grove Mills:1 26 miles Mid State Trail borders Everett: 35 miles Pine Grove Mills:1 26 miles Great Eastern Trail Set of linked hiking trails connecting Alabama to New York Everett: 35 miles 16 mile Rail to Trail on the abandoned Petersburg Branch of the Lower Trail None Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line from Flowing Spring to Alfarata Set of linked hiking and biking trails connecting New York City, Hollidaysburg: 14 miles 9/11 Memorial Trail Shanksville, PA, and Washington DC Huntingdon: 17 miles Bike route through Pennsylvania from Maryland to New York Martinsburg: 12 miles PA Bike Route G borders Pine Grove Mills: 26 miles WalkWork: Pirate's Treasure Hunt/ Walking route loop passing many historical sites in Williamsburg Within Williamsburg Borough Williamsburg History Tour WalkWork: Lower Trail Mostly within Williamsburg Walking route along a portion of the Lower Trail River Walk Borough River trail navigable by small boats between Hollidaysburg and Hollidaysburg: 14 miles Juniata Water Trail Harrisburg Huntingdon: 17 miles SA Horse and Buggy Bike Bike route loop through Williamsburg and Martinsburg Martinsburg: 12 miles Route 1 Located one mile and 600 vertical feet off-trail 4 Trails traveling through Williamsburg: more map details at jamesgraef.com/williamsburg Lower Trail Hiking Trails Linked Bike Trails Bike Routes Water Trails Trail Proposals LOCATION through Williamsburg to reach the Lower Trail. Town Williamsburg is optimally located to be a key trail town: • Every trail travels through the center of town. This is rare for trail towns on It is at the intersection of many • most trails, including the Greater separate trails, most of which go Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail, and any potential extension of the Lower 5 Trail to Hollidaysburg.2 It is especially Surveys should be conducted to • Generally well-preserved, dense, rare for hiking trails like the Mid State determine the amount of traffic through historical building stock along High Trail, which often stay in forests and Williamsburg on each trail, both day Street and surroundings on ridges. trips and through-travel, and to • Historical sites including Big Springs • It is far from other trail towns of determine which services visitors from Mansion and cemetery 345 significant size, meaning more each trail typically require. • Right-sized, moderately trafficked visitors will need to stop to find main streets with ample on-street services they need. ACTIVE RECREATION parking TRAVEL DISTANCES The chance that a through-hiker or • Natural features including Indian Typical Day Typical Multi- Chief Rock and Big Springs -biker will stop in Williamsburg is Trip3 Day Trip3 higher if they need services: food, • Recreation facilities including 15-30 miles/ lodging, mail, or laundry. Because Hiking4 5-15 miles Riverside Park, Williamsburg Farm day hikers walk significantly less than Show Grounds, Williamsburg bikers bike per day, they are more likely 40-100 miles/ Community Center, and nearby Biking5 10-50 miles to need services near Williamsburg. day Canoe Creek State Park Additionally, trail towns along the • Organizations who contribute to hiking-only Mid State Trail and Great Williamsburg, including the EXISTING ASSETS Eastern Trail are far more sparse and Williamsburg Community School can require a detour from the trail. This Williamsburg has the existing physical, District, Williamsburg Area Volunteer is compared to the significantly closer economic, and social infrastructure Fire Department, Williamsburg nearby towns along the 9/11 Memorial necessary for improvement. Existing Community Center, and Williamsburg Bike Trail, both of whose centers the infrastructure includes: Betterment trail goes near or through. Therefore, • Local businesses, including two this report assumes while most active restaurants and multiple grocery and recreation visitors to Williamsburg will convenience stores arrive by bike, services for through- • Educational institutions, including a travelers will generally target hikers. public library and two schools 2 Insight gained from Jane Sheffield, Allegheny Ridge Corporation 3 Single and multi-day travel distances based on Pennsylvania terrain and general skill of travelers 4 Appalachian Trail Statistics That Will Suprise, Entertain, and Inform You: REI 5 Bike Tour Planning: How Far Should You Plan to Cycle Each Day: Bicycle Touring Pro 6 GREATER ALLEGHENY PASSAGE TRAIL TOWNS Greater Allegheny Passage trail route and trail towns: more map details at jamesgraef.com/williamsburg Trail Benefits Trails have the potential to change Williamsburg for the better. • The GAP trail contributes 50 million dollars to local economies along its length annually and hosts over 850,000 users annually.6 • GAP Trail users spend an average of $18 during a day trip per person, and $124 during an overnight trip per person per day, on average 4-6 days.7 • Pedestrian and bike infrastructure contributes more to local economies than road infrastructure per dollar spent.8 • Trails increase nearby property values, increase tourism, and create vibrant communities for residents, old and new.8 6 About Us: Trail Town Program Why Trails: American Trails 7 Trail Town Guide: Trail Town Program 8 Economic Benefits: American Trails 8 Annual Traffic Annual Through-Rider Traffic Town Population 301,048 200,000 19,480 20,000 19,115 150,000 15,000 100,000 10,000 8,564 7,316 50,000 5,000 3,138 2,496 2,114 2,038 1,683 729 828 873 545 571 378 353 437 455 57 0 0 Garrett Garrett Dawson Boston Smithton Smithton Braddock Braddock Sutersville Sutersville Ohiopyle c Counter) c Counter) Perryopolis Perryopolis Frostburg Frostburg Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ffi Corriganville Rockwood Confluence Homestead Meyersdale Cumberland McKeesport Connellsville Mount Savage West Newton West Official GAP Trail Towns (Deal Tra Other towns along GAP 9 Rockwood Huntingdon are farther from Williamsburg than Frostburg and This town is located in the interstitial Trail Town Cumberland are from Mount Savage, space between rural farms and Hollidaysburg and Altoona are much wooded forest. Market Street’s Comparison larger population centers, so dignified central green median marks Three GAP trail towns which had the comparing the trail towns’ proximity to the center of town. The town is across closest populations to Williamsburg larger population centers might be the Casselman River from the GAP were analyzed in detail: informative. trail, with only one crossable bridge connecting the two. This section of the Confluence GAP trail sees just over 25,000 riders This highly successful trail town is annually, marking the beginning of the located near Ohiopyle State Park, at lowest-trafficked section of trail General the beginning of stretches of world- stretching to just before Frostburg.9 For class whitewater rafting on the these reasons, Rockwood’s Conclusions Youghiogheny River, and on a forested relationship to the GAP trail seems section of the GAP trail. Confluence is most similar to Williamsburg’s • GAP trail town services were created centered around a town square park relationship to the Lower Trail. in response to GAP trail expansion in typical for a small town. The town the early 2000s which brought many center is much closer to Youghiogheny Mount Savage new visitors needing lodging, River Lake than Williamsburg is to restaurants, bathrooms, and water This town is not officially listed as a Raystown Lake, but the former is a fountains.10 Services should reflect GAP trail town. The town has no dense much smaller lake. Confluence sees the needs of visitors to each specific business center or main public space, significant ridership of the GAP trail trail. Community placemaking and and it is almost a mile from the trail in a because of its proximity to Ohiopyle, improvement should prioritize valley, while the trail hugs the side of whose section of trail hosts almost resident needs and aspirations to the ridge above. The town is between 75,000 riders annually.9 create unique communities and build Frostburg and Cumberland which raise community support.10 traffic in Mount Savage, both on the • Trail services, especially
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