Study: Recreational Trails Program Underfunded by Over $200 Million

"According to a long-delayed new fuel study from the Federal Highway Administration, users of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and other off-road automobiles pay an estimated $281 million into the Highway Trust Fund via gas taxes every year," which, as Kea Wilson reports, amounts to "three times more federal revenue than is spent building the trails themselves."

Yet the Recreational Trails Program, which funds the maintenance of these trails, is slated to receive just $84 million a year under the FAST Act–"not nearly enough money to maintain, much less expand, the vast network of urban greenways and critical rural transportation connections which the program funds."

Contrary to what the name might suggest, the Recreational Trails Program is a versatile initiative responsible for funding many key transportation arteries for non-drivers, including segments of the Empire State Trail that run through New York City; about 30 percent of program funding is specifically allocated towards non-motorized transport, with a further 40 percent devoted to mixed-use paths.

The FHA study could help convince lawmakers that the program deserves more funding. "With proof in hand that the trails community is already more than pulling its own weight, advocates say that $250 million a year isn’t too much to ask for — and it’s only a start."