Who will pay for policing of the rail trail?
The local communities will continue to be responsible for policing the rail bed as they have in the past. Typical lease agreements will obligate the town to take care of policing. The typical experience is that policing costs for a rail trail are quite small and are usually incorporated in the normal budgets for police departments with little overall change. Some towns have put policemen on bicycles as part of normal patrolling of streets and public areas. These bicycle officers patrol trails as part of their normal duties. Trail users will provide a high degree of self-policing of the trail. The rail bed has long sight lines so that anyone up to mischief on the trail will be very visible.
