Trails for the Twenty-First Century
Planning, Design, and Management Manual for Multi-Use Trails
232 pages
11 x 8.5
Book Description
Communities across the country are working to convert unused railway and canal corridors into trails for pedestrians, cyclists, horseback riders, and others, serving the needs of both recreationists and commuters alike. These multi-use trails can play a key role in improving livability, as they offer an innovative means of addressing sprawl, revitalizing urban areas, and reusing degraded lands.
Trails for the Twenty-First Century is a step-by-step guide to all aspects of the planning, design, and management of multi-use trails. Originally published in 1993, this completely revised and updated edition offers a wealth of new information including.
- discussions of recent regulations and federal programs, including ADA and TEA-21
- recently revised design standards from AASHTO
- current research on topics ranging from trail surfacing to conflict resolution
- information about designing and building trails in brownfields and other
- environmentally troubled landscapes
Also included is a new introduction that describes the importance of rail-trails to the sustainable communities movement, and an expanded discussion of maintenance costs. Enhanced with a wealth of illustrations, Trails for the Twenty-First Century provides detailed guidance on topics such as: taking a physical inventory and assessment of a site; involving the public and meeting the needs of adjacent landowners; understanding and complying with existing legislation; designing, managing, and promoting a trail; and where to go for more information. It is the only comprehensive guidebook available for planners, landscape architects, local officials, and community activists interested in creating a multi-use trail.
Review Quotes
"Nothing escaped the authors' attention, and with so much real-world information, Trails for the Twenty-first Century is easily the single most useful reference book for trail planners."
Journal of the American Planning Association
"The information is given in a reassuring step-by-step manner that doesn't assume the reader has trail experience."
Audubon Naturalist News
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments and Sponsors
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1. Getting Started
-Your Trail and the Community
-Site Considerations: Inventory and Assessment
-Case Studies
Chapter 2. Planning and Public Involvement
-Comprehensive Trail Planning
-Developing a Plan: In-House Staff or Outside
-Contractor?
-Public Involvement
-Case Studies
Chapter 3. Designing Your Trail
-Meeting the Needs of Different Users
-Sub-grade, Sub-base, and Trail Surface
-Designing Trails in Challenging Areas
-Bridges and Railings for Multi-Use Trails
-Tunnels
-Road Crossings
-Signs for Multi-Use Trails
-Trail Support Facilities
-Wildlife and Multi-Use Trails
-Landscaping
-Understanding the History of Your Trail
-Making Your Trail Unique
-Case Studies
Chapter 4. Building Your Trail
-Creating an Implementation Plan
-Strategies to Acquire Land
-Compliance with Legislation and Permitting
-Funding Sources for Trail Development
-Successful Implementation: Public-Private
-Partnerships
-Construction
-Case Study
Chapter 5. Managing and Maintaining Your Trail
-Who Should Manage Your Multi-Use Trail?
-Trail Management for User Safety
-Maintaining Good Relations with Adjacent
-Landowners, Residents, and Businesses
-Developing a Fee Structure
-Joint Ventures within Your Multi-Use Trail
-Corridor
-Protect Your Trail in the Face of Change
-Developing a Comprehensive Budget and
-Management Plan
-Case Study
Chapter 6. Maximizing Your Trail's
-Potential
-Promoting and Marketing Your Trail
-Working with the Media
-Publications
-Using a Web Site to Market Your Trail
-Citizen Support
-Keeping Your Trail a Dynamic Entity
-Case Studies
-Tourism Agencies Promoting Trails
-Creating and Making the Most of a Friends of the Trails Group
Glossary
Annotated Resource Directory
About the Authors
Index
