The East Coast Greenway Alliance has released a new Strategic Plan anchored by the goal of doubling biking and walking along its Maine-to-Florida route by 2030.
The East Coast Greenway currently hosts an estimated 50m bike rides, runs and walks per year, making it the most visited park in America. Over the next five years, the Alliance aims to increase that total to 100m visits, greatly enhancing the positive impact for the health, sustainability and the economy across 15 states and 450 communities.
In a recent letter unveiling the new plan, executive director Dennis Markatos-Soriano and chair Regina Yan said: “We are excited to see how this increase transforms the sense of connection with community and nature from Downeast Maine to the Florida Keys. It will take both super-users biking and walking even more per week and for us to inspire many new people to join us on the Greenway through a mix of programming and marketing of the hundreds of existing segments ready for their enjoyment.”
The Alliance’s new plan responds to shifts in the economy, politics and culture. Over the past year, the Alliance gathered input from more than 400 members, partners, donors, volunteers and staff through surveys, focus groups and meetings, working alongside the strategic consulting team at moss+ross.
The three main goals of the plan are to develop and promote the Greenway, and transform the region.
The plan reflects today’s reality of reduced federal infrastructure investment and increased uncertainty. The Alliance is committed to advancing the Greenway by engaging federal stakeholders while strengthening leadership at the state and local levels and within philanthropy. This path forward honours the Alliance’s history and positions the organisation for continued impact.
In addition to doubling biking and walking in the region, other aims include expanding the East Coast Greenway through more targeted project development and promoting the Greenway by highlighting its most accessible corridors, where the route is currently most developed and safe for an outstanding day, weekend or more on the trail.
To advance its goal of promoting the Greenway, the Alliance redesigned greenway.org earlier this year. The new website features an enhanced online experience for both explorers and advocates. The site redesign was informed by the Alliance’s thorough strategic planning process, as well as in-depth planning sessions for staff and volunteer leadership.
Highlights of the Alliance’s first major website redesign since 2017 include: a new “Advancing the Greenway” section, showcasing the work being done by Alliance staff and partners to complete the East Coast Greenway; a streamlined “Explore the Greenway” section, featuring more user-friendly state pages, new regional hubs, trip-planning resources and itineraries for exploring the Greenway; updated state, regional and national maps; and a donation hub detailing the variety of ways Greenway explorers can become supporters for continued development of the East Coast Greenway.
