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Acquiring Rail Corridors:
Forward
Over the past ten years, the rails-to-trails movement has caught on in America. While there were less than 200 rail-trails in the mid-1980s, in 1996 there are over 800, and today over 1,200.
In helping hundreds of communities build rail-trails, we have learned some essential lessons about trail-building. To be successful, a rail-trail project needs three "supports": a committed public agency; a trail plan; and grassroots support. In Secrets of Successful Rail-Trails, we share advice on how to strengthen these three supports and build what we have come to call the "rail-trail triangle."
However, in our experience, building the rail-trail triangle, while critical, is not enough to assure success. Acquiring a rail corridor presents unique issues that cannot be adequately addressed through the process of public persuasion. Absent a transaction, there will be no trail.
That's where Acquiring Rail Corridors fits in. Acquiring Rail Corridors summarizes the knowledge of the country's leading attorneys, non-profit land acquisition agents, local park directors and rail-trail builders who have successfully acquired rail corridors for trail use.
After reading this book, we hope you will be able to approach a railroad with confidence.... and be able to strike a deal. If complications arise, each of our organizations is ready to assist you.
Good luck!
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