Most of our outdoors is accessible only by car.
Pennsylvania’s forests should be open to all.
Car companies try to sell cars with the outdoors
Historically, car companies could sell cars for their personal freedom, convenience, cheapness, and cargo capacity. However, with worsening traffic, increasingly expensive gas, highest road death rates among developed countries, and record-high ownership costs, cars are offering fewer and fewer benefits. In fact, cargo bicycles have even become an option for replacing cars, and there’s a growing movement to live car-free or car-lite as a means for healthy and more sustainable lifestyles that multiple companies are responding to the demands of.
The only thing left that car companies can sell cars on is access to the outdoors, as observed by multiple news outlets. Everything from relentless advertisements featuring cars in the wilderness, to the majority of cars sold being off-road capable, to even the loss of small cars in America helps to reinforce the false belief that the only way to access nature is from behind the wheel.
Non-automotive wilderness access is both possible and economically beneficial
With more and more people opting out of car ownership and living car-free, alternate access to the outdoors is a growing need. This is especially important for Happy Valley as many college students live without automobiles and State College is already the most-urbanist, least-driving college town in the country. Providing safe, reliable transport out of town for day trips and camping encourages undergrads to spend more time and money in surrounding communities, boosting the economy.
Outdoor recreation constitutes 2% of Pennsylvania’s economy, and contributes nearly $8 billion to local jobs. Nationally, outdoor recreation is a trillion-dollar industry and is outpacing domestic growth. Notably, Pennsylvania has a larger outdoors economy than any other Mid-Atlantic state, and is uniquely situated to draw eco-tourism from New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and other nearby states. Providing better transit access between big cities and the outdoors would significantly bolster Centre County’s economy.
The economic benefits of bicycle trails are similarly myriad: a new bicycle trail can generate millions of dollars in local spending, as has been shown by many case studies; nearly 50% more jobs are created by bicycle trails than on road-only projects per dollar spent; and homes within 50 meters of a bike trail sell at a premium. In general, homes in non-car-oriented communities gain more value, and building trails “makes
economic sense.” These aren’t far-away benefits just found in coastal cities; rail-trails, alone, contribute nearly a billion dollars annually to Pennsylvania’s economy, and bike trails draw people into small towns, increasing their prosperity. This is also boosted by transit to trailheads, with several different transit agencies having implemented routes directly to nature in recent years.
All three parts of the CCHR Modern Transit plan – train, bus, and trail – promote car-free outdoor recreation
The DMU rail transit running from Altoona to Tyrone, State College, Millheim, Bellefonte, Lock Haven, and Williamsport would provide convenient, environmentally-friendly transport to many natural resources. Stations in Graysdale, Lemont, and Millheim allow hiking the Scotia Barrens, Mount Nittany, or Mid-State Trail. Boalsburg Station is near Tussey Mountain Resort, and the Airport Station provides access Fisherman’s Paradise. The Airport and Bellefonte Stations can be paired with riverine expeditions down Spring Creek Canyon.
The Penns Valley trail network is not only an outdoors amenity in itself, it also connects many existing attractions. Trail access is provided to the Tussey Mountain Resort for skiing, Grange Fair for festivals, Colyer Lake for boating, Mid-State Trail for backpacking, and Penn-Roosevelt State Park for camping. Additionally, connecting these amenities with the local communities of Boalsburg, Spring Mills, and Millheim would allow these towns to benefit from eco-tourism, serving as either destinations for a daytrip walking or biking along the trail, or as basecamps for outfitting wilderness high adventure.
The new CATA route from State College to Milroy and Lewistown also connects people with the outdoors. A stop in Poe Paddy gives access to many hiking trails, nearby campgrounds, local scout camps, and longer-distance backpacking adventures. Additionally, Lewistown provides many outfitters for rafting on the Juniata River, hiking or mountain biking in nearby State Game Lands, or horseback riding through the Tuscarora wilderness.
