On May 7th and 8th, 2008, residents, policymakers and leaders came together for the Great Valley Center’s 11th Annual Conference, “Green Momentum: Prospering in a New Economy”, held in Sacramento. This year’s conference featured more than 45 breakout sessions and 100 speakers, and offered the chance to learn how the Valley’s economy, communities, and environment will be shaped by the emergent ideas of sustainability, long term planning and collaboration.

Callander Associates Principal, Brian Fletcher, was part of a 3-person panel for a session titled “Great Valley Greenways: Making Communities Livable”. The panel presented case studies of current projects to inspire participants to discover opportunities for greenways within their own community. Brian spoke on the rails-to-trails conversion of the 4.2-mile Virginia Corridor Trailway in Modesto. The trail provides a much-needed non-motorized link between surrounding neighborhoods, schools, parks, shopping areas, workplaces, and the downtown core as well as providing important connections to existing and proposed bikeways, including the Hetch Hetchy Bikeway and the Tuolumne Regional Park. For a copy of Brian’s presentation, please go here.

The Great Valley Center is a nonprofit organization working to improve California's Great Central Valley. They provide information and data, organize conferences and regional events, and operate leadership development programs. The organization’s goal is to help communities throughout the region to develop a healthy and sustainable future by encouraging coordination and cooperation among the region's diverse interests. Please visit www.greatvalley.org for more information.