Rail Trail Safety:

• ​Rail Trails and Safe Communities, 1998: conducted by the Rails to Trails Conservancy to document the extent of crime on rail trails and review such crime in a broader perspective. 

 

• Road and Trail Intersection Safety, 2007: funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a grant from the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

 

• Active Transportation Beyond Urban Centers: Walking and Bicycling in Small Towns and Rural America: Recent data from the US Department of Transportation shows active transportation, biking and walking, is alive and well in rural America making Federal investment in rural areas a priority.

 

• Evaluation of Safety, Design and Operation of Shared-Use Paths: Six shared-use paths around the country were evaluated in terms of their safety and usability. The level of service, rated from A to F, is quantitatively related to trail width and the number of users per hour.

 

Rail Trails' Effects on Property Values:

• The Impact of Rail-Trails: a study of users and nearby property owners from three trails: by the National Park Service, the 1992 Impacts of Rail-Trails study was the first extensive study to examine the benefits and impacts of rail-trails and the first, to our knowledge, to systematically examine both the trail users and nearby property owners of the same trails.

  • Executive summary and Table of Contents (PDF)

  • Introduction and Study Methods (PDF)

  • Study Results (PDF)

  • Conclusions (PDF)

  • Appendices (PDF)

 

• Home Sales near Two Massachusetts Rail Trails, 2006: a local Realtor examined the homes sales In the seven Massachusetts towns through which the Minuteman Bikeway and Nashua River Rail Trail run. Statistics on list and selling prices and on days on the market were analyzed.

 

• Public Choices and Property Values, 2003: in collaboration with the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR), Indiana University analyzed how public choices, like public and recreational services, can affect property value.  

 

• The Impact of the Little Miami Scenic Trail on Single Family Residential Property Values, 2008: the Division of Research and Advanced Studies at the University of Cincinnati analyzed the impact of the trail on single-family residential property values in southwest Ohio.

 

• Economic Benefits of Trails and Greenways, 2004: a study of multiple economic benefits by the Rails to Trails Conservancy.

 

• The Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail: Its Impact on Adjoining Residential Properties: A report covers the views and opinions of property owners adjacent to the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Hike Trail. The landowners feel that the trail has either no effect on or has improved their ability to sell their homes or actually increased the value of their property. The benefits considered most important were safe opportunities for recreation, health, and fitness pursuits. Landowners overwhelmingly reported that development and management of trails such as the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail is a good use of public funds.

 

Rail Trail Maintenance:

• Rail-Trail Maintenance & Operation, Ensuring the Future of Your Rail trail - A survey of 100 Rail-trails:Survey results from managers of more than 100 open rail-trails in the northeast region of the US. Topics include a wide variety of trail maintenance and operations issues. The report covers the responses on costs, specific examples, tips, techniques and other appropriate areas of concern to a successful rail trail.

 

 

• Alternative Pavement for Shared Use Paths (1) (2) (3) (4): describes types of trail surfaces, lists guidelines and regulations related to trail surfaces, and provides illustrative examples including a pedestrian path in Carlisle (crushed stone), the Minuteman National Historic Park trail in Lexington and Concord (multiple surface treatments), and the Upper Charles River Greenway (multiple trail surface treatments).

 

Rail Trail Usage / Demand:

• Salem-Concord Bikeway Demand Estimate: This study gathered usage statistics for three New England shared-use paths as a basis for projecting usage of a proposed rail trail. The usage is strongly dependent on the number of residents within two miles of the trail. The average number of daily trips averages one trip per 33 residents with usage being about three times higher on weekends than on weekdays.

• Pinellas Trail Community Impact Study

  • Executive summary (PDF)

  • Table of contents (PDF)

  • Chapter 1, Literature review (PDF)

  • Chapter 2, Property Value Trends Assessment (PDF)

  • Chapter 3, Crime Statistics (PDF)

  • Chapter 4, Resident’s Mailback Questionnaire (PDF)

  • Chapter 5, Telephone Survey of Homeowner Association Officers (PDF)

  • Chapter 6, Telephone Survey of Realtors (PDF)

  • Chapter 7, Conclusions and Summary (PDF)

 

Other Rail Trail Studies:

• Cutting Edge Research in Trails and Greenways –Michigan’s project, : a comprehensive study by the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies at Michigan State University, looking at the impact of a state-wide regional trail development effort in the state of Michigan.