The article titled "Paths get regional support" [Oct. 20] was timely and potentially great news for our area. We were thrilled to finally see eyes and ears opening to the need for trails and bike paths in Virginia and all along the East Coast.
My wife and I just returned from a business trip to Boise, Idaho, where the absolute centerpiece of the city is the Boise River greenbelt and pathway.
Everyone, including businesses
We had one manager of a notable engineering firm state that he has one employee who bikes 20 miles each way to work along the pathway.
He said real estate values have soared anywhere along its path because "everyone wants to be where the action is."
Areas such as ours attract both young and older middle-class workers who care about quality of life.
An integrated series of hiking and riding trails would be an economic boon to our community.
Here, as in Boise, we would soon find our property values increasing simply because of a trail system. Locations in the community would be sought after just because of proximity to trails.
As both homeowners and rural property owners, we cannot think of anything that would be better for our community than a regional trail system (well, maybe a HOT lane and extra set of tracks would be nice, too).
Tom and Dollie Hare
Spotsylvania