Published: November 01, 2009 09:05 pm      

Trail exposure

Great Allegheny

If the national and regional attention being received by the Great Allegheny Passage in Allegany County is an indicator, expect to see even more trail enthusiasts visit Cumberland in 2010 and beyond.

There have been stories or mentions of the trail in newspapers around the country, including a front page article in a New York Times edition last week.

Through September, more than 60,000 cyclists, hikers and runners have been counted along the Great Allegheny Passage in Allegany County. About 50,000 people passed through in all of 2008.

The 20.47-mile rail trail begins in front of the Western Maryland Railway Station at Canal Place and goes to the Pennsylvania line a few miles northwest of Frostburg.

“It’s been great to see something come to fruition,” Larry Brock, one of the original supporters of the trail, told Economic Development Committee members Thursday at the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce. “The impact that this will carry through to next year will be amazing,” Brock said, noting a planned feature article in Bicycle Magazine scheduled for this fall.

Brock, a guide for Adventure Cycling, said findings of a recent ecdonomic impact study of the Great Allegheny Passage showed that four of every 10 trail users planned an overnight stay as part of their trip. “On average, these overnight trail users spent $98 a day in the trail communities and on lodging,” according to the report, commissioned for The Progress Fund’s Trail Town Program, the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau and the Allegheny Trail Alliance.

“The remaining trail users surveyed were either local residents or were enjoying a day trip,” said the report, released a week ago. “These local/day trip trail users spent an average of $13 a day in the trail communities.”

Readers can find more information on the report and links to the national stories about the Great Allegheny Passage by visiting our Web site at www.times-news.com.