The left destroyed the railroads in this country by subsidizing roads, and later doing the same to airports, while taxing railroad companies into oblivion. Turning these into bike trails using public largesse seems to me to almost mirror the “victory mosque” concept.
They make the point that the roads were built for bicycles, and taken over by automobiles.
Cry all you want, but Interstate Highways took away the need for the hundreds of private railroads across the country.
And the passenger rail system of the 1940 and and 1950’s is NEVER coming back due to the same and airports everywhere for the “Business” customers that used to ride the rails. (The NEC corridor is the exception, of course!!)
Better the old rails be used for recreation, than paved over for endless condos and office space. That’s what I believe.