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House Transportation Committee hears push to codify municipal authority to maintain legal trails
Summary
Witnesses for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns told the House Transportation Committee May 15 that state law and practice support towns’ ability to maintain legal trails, and urged legislative language to clarify that authority amid a pending court case.
The Vermont House Transportation Committee heard testimony May 15 urging lawmakers to clarify that municipalities may maintain legal trails, public rights of way that are not highways, and to codify that authority to prevent loss of recreational access.
The issue matters because legal trails provide primary access to publicly owned lands and support local outdoor recreation economies; witnesses said uncertainty after a pending Tunbridge lawsuit could lead towns either to reclassify or discontinue trails. "A legal trail is a public right of way that's not a highway," said Josh Hanford, director of intergovernmental relations at the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, summarizing the status and history of mapped trails.
Witnesses described the background and scope of the mapping effort that followed Act 178 (2006), including grants to municipalities to map historic roads and trails and a statutory mapping deadline in 2015. The League…
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