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As illustrated in this photo, trail maintenance touches virtually every aspect of the trail experience, including trash collection, lighting, landscaping, signage, surface quality and pavement markings. |
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Ad Valorem Tax– A special tax levied to raise funds for a particular purpose of recognized value to the community.
In-Kind Contribution – Funds donated toward the match for a grant. Can include state and community agencies, or private sector dollar donations, value of donated labor or equipment, materials, etc.
Operating and Maintenance Costs (O&M) – Funds for day-to-day costs of operating and maintaining a trail or greenway. Costs include workers' salaries, equipment upkeep, etc.
Partnership(s) – Arrangement(s) between two or more parties that have agreed to work cooperatively toward shared and/or compatible objectives, and in which there is: shared authority and responsibility (for the delivery of programs and services, in carrying out a given action, or in policy development); joint investment of resources (time, work, funding, material, expertise, information); shared liability or risk-taking; and, ideally, mutual benefits.
Trails and . |
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Maintenance agreement between city of Columbus, Ohio and MetroParks:
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Management and Maintenance:
Financing/Funding
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Explore the latest resources on this topic:
 Financing/Funding in RTC TrailBlog
Financing/Funding in the Library
Maintenance can be a challenge for trails large and small. After construction of the path, maintenance is an ongoing task that requires significant resources, including volunteers, staff and funding. Securing funding for trail maintenance is often a difficult task, especially in times when budgets are tight.
Here we provide four examples of trails that have financed trail maintenance using a variety of methods:
- Friends Group: Katy Trail, Dallas, Texas
- Regional Property Tax Levy: City of Columbus, Ohio Greenway Network
- Grant-Based Program: Greenways Maintenance Pilot Project, Detroit, Mich.
- Assessment District: The High Line, New York, N.Y.
For information about funding trail corridor acquisition or construction, please visit our Acquisition: Financing/Funding Toolbox page.
Katy Trail - Dallas, Texas
Friends Group
The Katy Trail is a 3.5-mile trail through the heart of Dallas. More than 300,000 people live or work within a mile of the trail. The trail is anchored at its northern end by Southern Methodist University and at its southern end by the American Airlines Center, home to NBA, NHL and Arena football teams. Since Friends of the Katy Trail formed in 1997, this trail has become a civic point of pride in Dallas. The trail, though a public park, is privately maintained.
Funding Mechanism
According to its 2008 annual report  , Friends of the Katy Trail had 1,200 dues-paying members. Membership dues help pay for trail amenities, such as electricity for trail lighting and water for drinking fountains, as well as covering the cost of police bicycle patrols and regular maintenance such as graffiti removal. Each year, Friends of the Katy Trail runs a capital campaign to solicit donations for the trail. In 2007, the capital campaign netted a high of more than $2 million, while in other years it has fluctuated closer to $1 million annually.
Although private donations are a major source of support for trail maintenance, they are augmented by government and foundation grants. To cover the costs of lighting the trail, Friends of the Katy Trail combined funds from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Communities Foundation of Texas and a challenge grant from the Hoblitzelle Foundation.
City Greenways - Columbus, Ohio
Regional Property Tax Levy
The city of Columbus, Ohio, has an extensive and growing trail system. Connecting parkland, watersheds, population centers and commercial districts, the trails serve both as popular recreation amenities and transportation connections. Central Ohio Greenways (COG) is a collaborative in central Ohio whose mission is to help communities build and expand their trail and greenway networks. The group is run by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), Franklin County MetroParks, the city of Columbus and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Midwest Regional Office.
Funding Mechanism
The property tax levy that funded MetroParks, the regional parks authority for Franklin County, Ohio, was set to expire at the end of 2009. In May 2009, voters passed Issue 1, which increased the property tax dedicated to MetroParks for the next 10 years. As a result, the amount of the park district's revenues generated by property tax levy increased from 54 percent to 70 percent. With these new resources, MetroParks has capacity for improved maintenance of park facilities, including trails.
As part of the regionalization promoted by the Central Ohio Greenways initiative, the city of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department signed a 25-year lease and Memorandum of Understanding agreement with MetroParks for maintenance of much of the city's current and future trail network, including the Olentangy Greenway Trail, the Scioto River Greenway Trail and the Alum Creek Greenway Trail. MetroParks is now responsible for mowing, plowing, providing signage, law enforcement patrols, litter and graffiti removal, creating a volunteer program to assist with trail operations, and more.
Greenways Maintenance Pilot Project - Detroit, Mich.
Grant-Based Program
The Conner Creek Greenway is planned to be more than eight miles long, running from Maharas Park on the Detroit River to 8 Mile Road. It follows the historical route of Conner Creek, which is now enclosed in storm sewers. The corridor, managed by the Detroit Eastside Community Collaborative with support from Nortown CDC, passes through industrial and commercial areas. Currently, 2.5 miles have been completed, featuring a 10-foot-wide walking and biking path.
The Southwest Detroit-Dearborn Greenway is one mile and currently includes a paved pathway through Detroit's Patton Park, a paved path around Dearborn's Lapeer Park, and an on-road signed bike route which connects the two. There are plans to further expand this greenway and connect it to other area trails.
Under the direction of the Northwest Detroit Neighborhood Development, the Lyndon Greenway is a planned 1.5-mile greenway that runs through the middle of the Brightmoor neighborhood, connecting Eliza Howell Park and Stoepel Park.
Funding Mechanism
Like the construction of the trails themselves, the Greenways Maintenance Pilot Project is funded by a grant from the GreenWays Initiative of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The program, operated by the nonprofit group The Greening of Detroit, will be operating its first season in 2010 and seeks to create a long-term maintenance plan and use educational programming and service days to engage the community.
For this program, The Greening of Detroit will hire, train and manage a four-member crew to provide routine maintenance between April and October. Duties include litter collection, trail sweeping, grass cutting, mulching, watering and weeding. The crew will also address more specialized maintenance needs such as installing new plant material, tree pruning, graffiti removal and illegal dumping.
The High Line - New York, N.Y.
Assessment District
Unique among rail-trails and urban parks, the High Line is a partially completed elevated walkway in Chelsea and adjacent neighborhoods on Manhattan's West Side. The first section of the park opened in June 2009; when completed, it will be 1.5 miles long.
Funding Mechanism
The High Line structure is owned, maintained and secured by the city of New York Department of Parks and Recreation. Friends of the High Line (FHL), a nonprofit funded by donations, grants and membership, provides daily maintenance per a license agreement with the city. Annual maintenance costs of the High Line total approximately $4 million. FHL is responsible for more than 70 percent of these costs.
Since private donations cannot reliably cover these costs, Friends of the High Line formed a steering committee with local community board members, property owners and business representatives to propose The High Line Improvement District. The district, modeled after the city's successful business improvement district program, would have assessed property owners within a 37-block area near the corridor a fee of no higher than nine cents per square foot per year. Though the district would operate independently of FHL, with a board elected by those who pay the assessment, it would contract with FHL to utilize the funds generated by the district for park maintenance. The funds raised—$1 million—would have covered approximately 30 percent of the High Line's maintenance costs, and paid for services such as trash removal, gardening, railing and walkway repair and restroom cleaning.
Facing opposition from many nearby property owners and residents, the proposal for an assessment district was withdrawn in August 2009.
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