The Vision Plan: Greenway Introduction

Our New England Greenway Vision Plan The greenway planning process described at the beginning of this chapter (see The Process) was applied to each state. Figure 8 shows the Greenway Vision Plan for New England. This section summarizes the results of the greenway planning process in three areas. The first step of this procedure calls for mapping all existing green spaces (or open spaces) and greenways, including hiking trails and rail trails. Table 1 shows the results for each state and New England in each of the three categories: nature protection, recreation, and historical and cultural areas. These existing green spaces and greenways are the result of over a century of planning and implementation, mostly by Federal and State agencies and non-governmental organizations. Figure 8. The Greenway Vision Plan for New England.     New England's Existing and Proposed Green Spaces and Greenways Total land area = 42,565,257 acres Existing Green Spaces and Greenways    Nature Protection  Recreation  Historic and Cultural  Results acres 6,189,466   1,382,570  1,000  7,573,036 percent        18 miles    18,465  546  19,011 Current Proposals for Green Spaces and Greenways    Nature Protection  Recreation  Historic and Cultural  Results acres  3,580,000  3,500    3,583,500 percent        8 miles  3,900  751  4,651 Our Proposal for Green Spaces and Greenways    Nature Protection  Recreation  Historic and Cultural  Results acres  8,159,936      8,159,936 percent        19 miles 650  10,795  1,336  12,781 Total Protection for Green Spaces and Greenways    Nature Protection  Recreation  Historic and Cultural  Results acres  17,929,402   1,386,070  1,000  19,316,402 percent        45 miles  650  33,160  2,633  36,443 Table 1. New England's Green Space and Greenway Resources