The safety needs of trail users require engineering planning, funding, and maintenance. Retaining rail bridges at highway-trail crossings is often the major issue, requiring a balance between the safety needs of motor vehicles passing under railroad bridges and trail users who walk on the bridge over the roadway.
States can provide better solutions by implementing planning before rail lines are abandoned.
This requires coordination between government agencies and trail advocates. Purpose and Objectives of the Research Gary L. Gittings, Darren J. Torbic, and Leonard A. Zangwill studied research on converting abandoned rail crossings to multiuse trails. The paper appeared in the Transportation Research Board's Transportation Research Record 1538, Pedestrian and Bicycle Research , published in 1996. The research included in-person interviews, telephone interviews, and a review of engineering and planning research literature. This condition allows six months for negotiation of a purchase agreement.