The Virgin Islands Trail Alliance Corporation (VITAL) is a non-profit organization in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, for the purpose of creating multi-use pathways across the island of St. Croix and expanding throughout the territory for the benefit of the people of the Virgin Islands. More specifically, VITAL was created to identify, plan, develop, build and manage (in some cases) a system of interconnecting multi-use pathways, green spaces, parks, walking paths, and biking trails in the Virgin Islands.

In the territory, safe walking and biking trails are limited, inconvenient, disconnected, and are not conducive to daily living and recreation. In addition, the roads and traffic patterns do not support a pedestrian friendly environment. Building multi-use pathways will create new opportunities and add unique value to the territory by enhancing the territory’s infrastructure and connecting people to services, daily living, and recreation.

VITAL is a leader in this venture in the Territory. VITAL has gathered all trail builders, enthusiasts and organizations together. Community engagement is the key to the success of the multi-use pathway project because the community is the largest stakeholder. Proper construction, taking into consideration population density, traffic calming, road diets, parking, a community plan, protecting native species, and revitalization without displacement are VITAL’s primary concerns. VITAL’s progress depends on how quickly we can obtain funding.