Designing for Nonmotorists

Recreational Trails: Crossings

• You are in the public right-of-way.
• See Shared Use Path discussion.

Please Avoid!

• Don't rip up the environment just to make a trail accessible.
  • Avoid zigzagging switchbacks: Use climbing turns.

Scenery

• Use Context Sensitive Solutions thinking.
• A finished trail should look like it belongs there: it should blend into the scenery.
• A trail should offer scenic views.
• Build only the width you need.
• Use natural features.

Drainage, Wetlands

• Keep drainage as natural as possible.
• Avoid wetlands to the extent feasible.
• From Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook:
  • Trails in Wet Areas
  • Geosynthetics, Rock Underdrains,
  • Turnpikes, Turnpikes Without Ditches,
  • Crossing Streams and Rivers
  • Shallow Stream Fords
  • Culverts, Bridges

See also Wetland Trail Design and Construction.

Bridges

• Bridges: What are we building?

4 photos from the Transportation Alternatives Data Exchange.
Top right: Osage Prairie Trail, Tulsa OK.
Top middle: Steel Bridge, Portland OR
Bottom left: Farmington Canal, Cheshire CT
Right side: Soo Line "S" Bridge, Eau Claire WI
Bottom middle: Rich Zelensky, Nebraska Department of Roads, through the River Valley Trail Riders, Council Bluffs IA.

Bridges

Photo: A rustic bridge on the Palmetto Trail.
Photo source: Stuart Macdonald, American Trails.

You don't need truck standards for most trail bridges.

• Choosing the Right Bridge: www.americantrails.org/resources/structures/ChooseBridgeBuild.html

• Forest Service Trail Bridge Catalog: www.fs.fed.us/eng/bridges/index.htm

Bridges

Some Americans might not feel comfortable with swinging suspension bridges!

TIBET: a bridge for the Happy Valley.
Photo source: Stuart Macdonald, American Trails.

Wildlife Impact

• Trails can impact wildlife.
• Use caution when locating trails: Avoid sensitive areas.

Wildfire at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge,
along New York State Thruway, I-90 near Seneca Falls NY: April 4, 2010.

Maintenance and Operations

• Maintenance prevents worse problems!
• States may use Recreational Trails Program funds for maintenance.
• Inform the public.

Signs

See MUTCD Chapter 9: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov.

• Use it carefully. These trails aren't highways.
• Some sign sizes are excessive.

Support Facilities

Eligible:

• Trailside and trailhead facilities.
• Information kiosks, call boxes.
• Benches, hitching posts.
• Equestrian mounting ramps.
• Rest rooms, water.
• Bike racks.

Support Facilities

• Trailside and trailhead facilities must meet accessibility guidelines for buildings and sites.

Support Facilities

• Park amenities: visitor centers*, whole park restrooms, picnic pavilions, campgrounds, ball fields, etc.
• Play areas, spray areas, swimming pools, marinas, etc.
• School facilities: running tracks, sports fields, bleachers, parking areas, field lighting, etc.

Support Facilities

• Not eligible: Play areas, swimming pools.

Seneca Lake State Park, near Seneca Falls NY, April 4, 2010

Questions, Comments, etc.

Happy Trails