Study Findings

Background and Methods

Study Findings

Conclusions and Implications

Appendix: Data Tables

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Trails Users and Use

  1. Demographically, the samples of rail-trail users were much like the populations of the communities through which the trails passed.
  2. The study trails were quite heavily used, with most users living nearby and visiting frequently. This pattern was most pronounced on the suburban Lafeyette/Moraga Trail.
  3. The study did not find a "typical" mix of activities that might be expected on rail-trails. Although bicycling and walking were the most common activities on all the study trails, they occured in very different proportions on each.
  4. Having no motorized vehicles allowed was the most desirable trail characteristic expressed by the users of each trail. Other important charcteristics were: natural surroundings, quiet settings, safe road crossings, smooth trail surfaces, and good maintenance.
  5. Users reported no serious complaints with any of the trails. Insufficient drinking water and restroom facilities were the biggest concerns overall, with rough trail surfaces and reckless behavior of other users reported as problems on the Lafayette/Moraga Trail

Economic Benefits of Rail-Trails

  1. Use of the sample trails generated significant levels of economic activity. These economic benefits were from two major sources: total trip-related expenditures and additional expenditures made by users on durable goods related to their trail purchase.
  2. Uses spent an average of $9.21, $11.02, and $3.97 per person per day as a result of their trail visits to the Heritage, St. Marks, and Lafayette/Moraga Trails, respectively.
  3. The amount of "new money" brought into the local trail county(s) by trail visitors outside the county(s) was $630,000, $400,000 and $294,000 annually for the Heritage, St. Marks, and Lafayette/Moraga Trails, respectively.
  4. Restaurant and auto-related expenditures were the largest categories of trip-related expenses and visitors thats pent at least one night in the local area were the biggest spenders. Equipment (such as bicycles) was the largest category of durable expenditures.

Landowner and Property Characteristics

  1. Property size and distance from homes to trail varied from trail to trail as expected with the largest properties and distances between homes and the trail occurring along the rural Heritage Trail and the smallest properties and those closest to the trail occurring along the suburban Lafayette/Moraga. Relatedly, it was far more likely for a landowner's property to be severed by the Heritage Trail than by the other two.
  2. The vast majority of landowners were trail users and visited the trails frequently.

Problems Experienced By Landowners

  1. Overall, trail neighbors had experienced relatively few problems as a result of the trails during the past twelve months, but the types and frequencies of these problems varied from trail to trail.
  2. The problems reported by the most landowners were: unleashed and roaming pets, illegal motor vehicle use, and litter on or near their property. The problems that were most likely to have increased for adjacent owners since the opening of the trail were: noise from the trail, loss of privacy, and illegal motor vehicle use.
  3. The majority of owners reported that there had been no increase in problems since the trails had been established, that living near the trails was better than they had expected it to be, and that living near the trails was better than living near unused railroad lines before the trails had been constructed. Although owners along the Heritage Trail were the least positive and those along the Lafayette/Moraga the most positive, the majority sampled along each trail was satisfied with having the trail as a neighbor.

Rail-Trails' Effects on Property Values

  1. Landowners along all three trails reported that their proximity to the trails had not adversely affected the desirability or values of their properties, and along the suburban Lafayette/Moraga Trail, the majority of owners felt the presence of the trail would make their properties sell more easily and at increased values.
  2. Of those who purchased property along the trails after the trails had been constructed, the majority had reported that the trails either had no effect on the property's appeal or added to its appeal.
  3. The vast majority of real estate professional interviewed felt that the trails had no negative effect on property sales and no effect on property values adjacent to or near the trails. However, those who felt the trails increased property values outnumbered those reporting decreased values. This positive effect was most pronounced on the Lafayette/Moraga Trail and for nearby, as opposed to adjacent, property.

Other Benefits of Rail-Trails

  1. Trail users and landowners alike reported that the trails benefitted their communities in many ways. Health and fitness and recreation opportunities were considered to be the most important benefits of the trails by the landowners. The trail users felt the trails were most important in providing health and fitness, aesthetic beauty, and undeveloped open space.