River Voices Newsletter on Water Trails
Attached is the River Voices newsletter, volume 16, Number 2 from 2006. Published by the River Network, this particular newsletter contains many valuable articles on water trails.
MTGA Trails Toolkit
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Risk Management & Liability:
Risk Management & Liability
Pedestrian and Bike Roadway Design Features
A presentation by Josh DeBruyn (MDOT) and Ronald Emery (Department of Attorney General) given on May 29th, 2008 at the Designing Healthy Livable Communities Conference.
Buying Lands for Conservation: Environmental Assessment
Anyone who reads a newspaper or listens to the evening news is familiar with the dangers of land contaminated by hazardous materials. Cleanup costs can be very high; the property may be unsafe for public use; and the problem may expose the landowner to liability, regardless of who caused the contamination.
The Supply of Recreational Lands and Landowner Liability: Recreational Use Statutes Revisited
Downward trends in the availability of private lands for public recreation suggest that efforts to encourage private landowners to open their lands to the public will be difficult, at best.
Rails-Trails and Liability
Trails are being built in urban, suburban, and rural areas. They are being built on former rail corridors as well as in vast public lands. People use trails for: walking, jogging, biking, in-line skating, skiing; even equestrians, snowmobilers and people in wheelchairs use them. With all these uses in a variety ofsettings come a host of concerns about liability issues.
This report concludes that trail-related liability is primarily a management issue. Laws are in place to protect all parties from unwarranted lawsuits and the rest is up to proper design, maintenance and management.
Rail Trail Liability Issues — Risk Assessment
Ownership of a recreational trail, whether by a governmental entity or a non-profit corporation, provides a host of liability considerations. Ownership of a railroad corridor 60 feet wide and many miles long upon which the public is invited for recreational purposes ensures that there will be numerous liability questions for which the trail organization must anticipate and plan. Indeed, much of the administration and management of a rail trail is directed to minimizing risks and reducing liability exposures by providing a safe and user friendly recreational experience for the trail patron.
A Compilation of Michigan Statutes
Michigan state laws that involve trails, bicycling, pedestrians, liability, government immunity and more.
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