Benefits of the Greenway

In order to give everyone an opportunity to support the on-going development of the Greenway, several levels of giving have been established, along with benefits on each level:

• Recreation- Trails can provide a place for bicyclists, walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, mountain bikers to exercise and experience the outdoors.
• Transportation- Greenways provide alternate transportation corridors for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel from home to their workplace, community markets, stores, etc.
• Health- Greenways provide areas for moderate exercise which has been proven to reduce stress, burn excess fat and reduce a person's risk of developing health problems.
• Economic- Greenways can provide a great economic returns to a region. Increased tourism and the resulting business growth add to the tax base and create jobs for residents.
• Education- Greenways provide an excellent place for learning about ecology, often serving as living laboratories for students.
• Environmental- Greenways provide protected corridors for safe movement of wildlife from one place to another and increase wildlife diversity.
• Floodplain Management- Greenways provide natural flood control for area streams by retaining vegetated corridors to absorb flood waters. Greenways also protect or enhance water quality.
• Quality of Life- Greenways enhance the livability of an area. People who live in communities that have greenways find these natural corridors become an integral part of an enriched quality of life.

Greenways and Property Values

A growing body of evidence from communities around the country is demonstrating that greenways have economic as well as social benefits.

• In a survey of adjacent landowners along Minnesota's Luce Line Trail, 87% believed that the trail increased or had no effect on the value of their property and 61% noted an increase in their property values.
• Homes near the 12-mile Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle sell for 6% more than similar sized houses elsewhere, according to a survey of local realtors.
• In Denver, Colorado a 1980 survey showed that 16% of Denver neighborhoods said that they would pay extra for greenways. By 1990, 48% of these neighborhoods said they would be willing to pay extra for greenways.