Planning and Developing Trails and Routes - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 183

While both of these normative planning approaches address critical ele-
ments of route and trail planning and development, there are many aspects
they do not tackle, including funding, land acquisition, collaborative plan-
ning and participatory development, although McNamara and Prideaux
(2011) do suggest that stakeholder involvement is critical throughout the
entire planning process, just as Timothy and Tosun (2003) did in their analy-
sis of community-based tourism development.

Trail funding
There are essentially three categories of funding associated with trails:
acquisition, development and operations (Fiala, 1999: 67). In contemporary
society, funding for trails is scarce and unpredictable (Paine, 2001). Even
more concerning in some cases is the ebb and flow of funding. For example,
there may be funding available under some administrations but not under
others. During times of economic crises, public lands and trails are some-
times the first to be cut from public budgets, so managers have to be creative
in finding ways not only to fund new trails, but also to renovate existing
ones and keep them operating.
In the UK, lottery funds have been very important in establishing long-
distance trails such as the C2C Cycle Route in England. In the US, there is
some limited funding from the federal government through the
Transportation Equity Act and through various federal highway grants as
long as the proposed corridors are somehow connected to the goals of the
Department of Transportation (Jones, 1994; Thompson, 2000). Other sources
include bond measures, state and county grants, habitat conservation grants,
air-quality grants and transportation measure funds (Fiala, 1999). For the
most part, the success of getting funding in the US at least relies on the rec-
reational or tourism element being downplayed while the air quality, trans-
portation and congestion management goals are highlighted (Jones, 1994;
Wright, 1995).
Jones (1994: 52-53) offered several recommendations that will help trail
organizations increase their chances of funding success in getting money
from the US federal government:

• Communicate with other agencies, because transportation funding often

comes through planning, transit or public works departments. Inter-
departmental and inter-sectoral strategies are important.

• Develop a multi-use or single-use plan. Federal grants are competitive, so

a master plan with clearly stated priorities and goals is essential to show
the rationale and justification for the trail and its funding.

• Demonstrate local commitment and involvement. Most national funding

programs want to see local commitments to a project beyond the orga-
nization putting it forward. Here, too, collaborative efforts are essential.