Trails mean business for cities, state studies say

There are no toll booths or parking meters on trails and bicycle paths, but they make money for cities anyway, a new state study says.

Trails contribute more than $8.2 billion to the Washington state economy, according to a pair of studies released last week by the state Recreation and Conservation office. That’s about 1.45 percent of the state’s gross domestic product — more than commercial logging or breweries.

There are about 5,000 miles of trails in 127 Washington cities, according the web site TrailLink, including Gig Harbor’s own 6.2-mile Cushman Trail.

Trails lower health costs by promoting exercise, and benefit local economies by bringing foot and bike traffic closer to main street businesses, the studies suggest.

“We know that trails provide a lot of benefits,” said Kaleen Cottingham, director of the Recreation and Conservation office. “People are healthier when they use trails, trails are good for local businesses and trails are better for the environment.”

Trails support more than 81,000 jobs annually, Cottingham noted, from bike mechanics to baristas.

One study, called “Economic and Social Benefits of Recreational Trails,” estimated that trail-based activites improve health and reduce medical costs for state residents by more than $390 million a year. The other, focused on health benefits, notes an abundance of benefits, such as improved heart and lung fitness and fewer deaths from coronary heart disease, cancer and obesity.

“Bikes mean business,” said Richard Smith, executive director of Washington State Bikes, a non-profit that promotes recreational bicycling. “In addition to boosting our state’s bottom line through industry, tourism and more, biking brings major benefits to our physical and mental health.”

Commissioned by the state Legislature, the twin reports also not that poor communities and greater health needs but often have less access to paths and trails. The reports recommend developing trails in strategic areas, such as where there are too few, or where existing trails are overcrowded.

Gig Harbor’s Cushman trail, laid out along a power line right-of-way, is 16 feet wide with four-foot gravel shoulders. It boats five restrooms, four parking lots and seating along the path. There are three trailheads: one at 5280 Borgen Boulevard, one at 3908 Grandview Street, and a third at 2626 Hollycroft Street.

New locator markers make trail safer. Read Gateway story here.

This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 12:00 AM.