Webinar – Bay Area Trails Collaborative Trail Talk — Beyond Cost Per Mile: Understanding Trail Costs

By: Rails to Trails Conservancy WEBINAR
July 31, 2026

Overview

This webinar from Rails to Trails Conservancy focused on understanding trail project costs using a hypothetical multi-use trail project to illustrate common budgeting, design, permitting, and construction challenges. The panel, representing project ownership, design, and construction-cost expertise, emphasized that the biggest cost risks often come from uncertainty, particularly around right-of-way issues, subsurface conditions, environmental constraints, and project scope definition. A recurring theme was that investing in early studies, strong collaboration, and realistic cost estimating can significantly reduce risks, delays, and budget overruns throughout a trail project’s lifecycle.

1. Reduce Uncertainty Early Through Investigation and Planning

• Conduct geotechnical, biological, cultural resource, and subsurface investigations as early as possible to identify major risks before design advances.
• Clarify project scope, alignment options, right-of-way needs, and major infrastructure requirements early to narrow cost uncertainty and improve budgeting accuracy.
• Prioritize analysis of major cost drivers such as bridges, retaining walls, grading, utility conflicts, and land acquisition rather than focusing on minor design details too soon.

2. Build Realistic Cost Estimates and Funding Strategies

• Break Down projects into individual components instead of relying on simple per-foot trail cost assumptions, especially for complex projects with varied conditions.
• Account For regional construction market conditions, inflation, wage increases, escalation, and potential schedule delays when developing estimates and grant applications.
• Engage cost estimators, constructability experts, and members of the construction community early to improve estimate accuracy and identify risks before bidding.

3. Plan for Long-Term Delivery, Operations, and Success

Communicate consistently with stakeholders, grant administrators, operations staff, and the public to build support, manage expectations, and address funding or project changes proactively.

Coordinate phasing decisions early, considering funding availability, environmental work windows, constructability constraints, and permit requirements.

Design For durability and lower lifecycle costs by selecting materials and solutions that reduce long-term maintenance burdens, even if initial costs are higher.

Speakers

Tara McIntire, Principal Landscape Architect, Marin County Parks

Erik Stromberg, Principal Landscape Architect and Restoration Director, Restoration Design Group, Inc.

Mark Cederborg, Principal and Managing Partner, Outset Advisors

RTC’s TrailNation Collaborative, Trail Development and Policy teams produce a free webinar series designed to help trail professionals build, grow, manage, maintain, promote or otherwise support trails and trail networks. Sign up here to get webinar alerts. 

Have a comment or question on our webinar series? Contact us below with topic or speaker ideas. We appreciate your feedback! Email us.

• Tags: BATC Building Trails Design Plan Trail Building Trail Planning

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