This presentation was given at the California State Trails & Greenways Conference by Alta Planning+Design, as part of a series on accessible trail planning, design and construction. It highlights how ADA regulations should influence the design of pathways, parallel paths, intersections, on-street bikeways, and over/under crossings. Created by ALTA Planning + Design

New trail managers are often concerned that managing a trail will expose them to liability for trail-user injuries, or worry about the high cost of purchasing insurance to protect from potential lawsuits. However, trail managers have a number of legal protections that limit their exposure to liability. As a result of these legal tools, when coupled […]

This is an appendix to a report that includes cost estimates for surfacing various segments of the Eastern Trail in Maine. Author: Wilbur Smith Associates

This document is a sample agreement between a non-profit or political subdivision and a railroad for interim trail use/railbanking. The document serves as a resource and should not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney.

In an effort to conserve rail corridors while still allowing rail carriers to discontinue use on unprofitable lines, the U.S. Congress included a unique and prescient provision within the National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983. The Rails to Trails Act allowed the federal government to regulate the disposition of soon-to-be abandoned railroad lines to preserve the right-of-way in case the need for […]

This document describes how to use a new method to analyze the quality of service provided by shared-use paths of various widths that accommodate various travel mode splits. Given a count or an estimate of the overall path user volume in the design hour, the new method described here can provide the level of service […]

A guide prepared for land trusts, watershed councils, federal, state and local land management agencies, landowners interested in wetland education, ecotourism, or related subjects. The summary is based upon a series of studies and workshops conducted by the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) including a survey of approximately 100 wetland interpretive sites, most of […]

Trails and greenways create opportunities for people of all ages to bicycle, walk, hike and jog. Across the country, trails and greenways are stimulating tourism and recreation spending, and in many rural communities they are seen as a catalyst for economic growth. In providing attractive, safe, accessible, and low- or no-cost places, they also make it easier for people to […]

This checklist for starting your trail project will help you gather information to create a vision for your trail or greenway project. The questions help you identify what type of trail you can create and how you can build support for it.

The need for this report arose from a discussion between CSX Railroad and the City of Philadelphia over safety and liability concerns regarding street-level access to the Schuylkill River Park Trail in Philadelphia.This paper reviews surveys performed by RTC and the U.S. Department of Transportation which found no crashes between trains and trail users on […]