• The Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) issued results from their 1998 survey Rail-Trails and Safe Communities, that
out of 372 nationwide trails, including 7,000 total miles and 45 million estimated users, only 3% of trails had experienced
major crime.
• Four separate studies conducted between 1979 and 1997 concluded that rail-trails do not increase crime. The Rails to
Trails Conservancy reports that “all four studies found that while some residents were apprehensive about rail-trail
projects, most did not experience problems after the trail’s opening”.
• Former opponent of Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle (whose home is on the trail) stated that the “trail is much more
positive than I expected. I was involved in citizens groups opposed to the trail. I now feel that the trail is very positive;
[there are] fewer problems than before the trail was built; [there was] more litter and beer cans and vagrants [before it
was built].” Not a single resident surveyed said that present conditions were worse than those prior to construction of
the trail.
• A study of Burke-Gilman Trail found that adjacent property owners experienced little or no crime or vandalism. The
study surveyed property owners, realtors, and police officers. According to the realtors, property “near” the trail is
significantly easier to market and sells for an average of 6% more than similar properties located elsewhere. Nearly
two-thirds of adjacent landowners believed that the trail “increased the quality of life in the neighborhood,” and not a
single resident thought the trail should be closed. (Evaluation of the Burk Gilman Trail’s effect on Property Values
and Crime, Seattle, WA Engineering Dept., 1987).