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Committee narrows trails language: active-transport trails to sit in transportation, recreational trails in parks
Summary
Auburn planners and committee members clarified that trails functioning as active transportation should be treated as transportation infrastructure (with government maintenance), while recreational trails belong in parks & rec; staff will refine language and glossary definitions.
The Comprehensive Planning Committee directed staff to sharpen how trails are categorized in the comp plan and to clarify maintenance responsibilities.
Committee members and staff distinguished between trails whose primary purpose is active transportation (connecting destinations) and trails whose primary purpose is recreation. The group agreed that trails used as transportation corridors should be treated like roads in policy and capital planning, while recreational trails can remain in parks and recreation sections and rely more on volunteers and land trusts.
"If the primary use is multimodal transportation, then it should be in the transportation section and it should be governmentally maintained," Jeff Hyman said, expressing the committee's view that maintenance obligations should follow primary function. Phil, city staff, noted public works is responsible for maintenance of many city-owned trails and cited recent coordination with NIMBA on Mount Apatite trails.
Members discussed Barker Mills trail as a local example where maintenance responsibility is unclear and where volunteer stewardship has lapsed since storm damage. Several members recommended keeping a GIS layer of the trail network and identifying ownership so the city can work with volunteers, land trusts and public works to prioritize maintenance.
Why it matters: how the plan classifies trails affects who pays for maintenance, whether trail improvements are eligible for CIP funding, and how trails are prioritized in future grant applications.
Next steps: staff will update the plan text to (1) define 'active transportation' in the glossary, (2) move transportation‑function trails into the transportation chapter or cross-reference them, and (3) propose action language for a trail inventory and a maintenance/stewardship approach with public works and volunteer partners.
