FACT    SHEET

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RAIL-TRAILS & LIABILITY

Occasionally trail skeptics and opponents claim that the liability risks posed by rail-trails are so great that the community cannot afford the insurance necessary to protect itself from lawsuits and legal judgments.

However, virtually all the managers of existing rail-trails say that liability problems are negligible. Since 92 percent of rail-trails are owned or operated by a public entity, such as a county park and recreation agency or a state department of natural resources, the risks associated with the trail are folded into the umbrella insurance policy of the city, county or stale. When asked, most trail managers are not even able to identity what percentage of their insurance premium is due to the trail.

Liability is also a concern among landowners. They fear that trail users will wander onto their property, injure themselves, and then hold the landowner responsible. Fortunately, landowner liability relating to rail-trails has not been much of a problem, primarily because "recreational use" statutes are on the books in 49 states (excluding only Alaska and the District of Columbia).

Most landowners are unfamiliar with protection they receive under a recreational use statute. Under these statutes, no landowner is liable for recreation injuries resulting from mere carelessness. To recover damages, an injured person would need to prove that a landowner engaged in willful and wanton misconduct. Only if a fee is charged for access to their property would landowners not have protection under a recreational use statute.

To avoid liability issues, agencies should insure that rail-trails are properly and safely designed. Bridges need adequate planking and standard-height railings, tunnels need protection from rock falls, and trestles need certifications of safely (For detailed information on rail-trail design and development, read Trails for the 21st Century: A Planning, Design, and Management Manual for Multi-Use Trails. Ordering information is listed below.)

Within the spectrum of public facilities, trails are quite, safe—often less risky than roads and safer than swimming pools, beaches, and children's playgrounds. In general, insurance amounts to a budgeted cost in the development and maintenance of the trail, a cost that communities realize is a small price to pay for an excellent community facility.

This information was excerpted from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Secrets of Successful Rail-Trails: An Acquisition and Organizing Manual for Converting Rails into Trails and Trails for the 21st Century: A Planning, Design, and Management Manual for Multi-Use Trails. Secrets of Successful Rail-Trails is $19.95 (or $16.95 for RTC members) plus $4.00 for shipping the first book and $1.00 for each addition book. Trails for the 21st Century is $24.95 with the same shipping charges as above. Mail orders to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 1100 17th Street, 10th Floor, Washington D.C., 20036. Or, for Visa and MasterCard orders only, call 1-800-888-7747 (ext. 11).

As a non-profit public organization, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is wholly supported by its membership. If you are. not already a member, pin today a one of tne following levels: regular ($18); supporting ($25); patron ($50); benefactor ($100); or Trailblazer Society ($1,000).