How do people trails affect the property values of residents who live on the trails?
Dummy text – These perennial issues have been the subject of a few studies which find that trails are quite benign in their social impact. The facts haven’t stopped groups organized against rail trail development from trumpeting that the few instances of crime are proof that trails are unsafe.
Homeowners nationwide express the same concerns and fears about proposed trails in their neighborhoods. But studies in various parts of the United States seem to show that concerns about trails lowering property values and increasing crime are unfounded. In fact, trails have consistently been shown to increase (or have no effect on) property values, to have no measurable effect on public safety, and to have an overwhelming positive influence on the quality of life for trail neighbors as well as the larger community.
How do people trails affect the property values of residents who live on the trails?
Dummy text – These perennial issues have been the subject of a few studies which find that trails are quite benign in their social impact. The facts haven’t stopped groups organized against rail trail development from trumpeting that the few instances of crime are proof that trails are unsafe.
Homeowners nationwide express the same concerns and fears about proposed trails in their neighborhoods. But studies in various parts of the United States seem to show that concerns about trails lowering property values and increasing crime are unfounded. In fact, trails have consistently been shown to increase (or have no effect on) property values, to have no measurable effect on public safety, and to have an overwhelming positive influence on the quality of life for trail neighbors as well as the larger community.
“The study of Property Values and Public Safety was to determine what effect, if any, the presence of urban trails has had on public safety to property owners who live adjacent to a trail and on property owners who live within one block of a trail. The study also evaluated the level of public acceptance for urban trails and their effect on the quality of life in these neighborhoods…
“The need for the study arose due to concerns expressed by several different neighborhoods over the proposed construction of new trails. These concerns included fears that the presence of an urban trail might lower property values and also create a risk to public safety, thus adversely affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood. These concerns are similar to concerns voiced in the past over proposed trails that are now established and accepted….”
Three Denver trails were studied in detail: “Data was collected in the summer of 1994 by telephone interviews of residents adjacent to or near to the trails, real estate agents who buy and sell homes in metro-Denver, patrol officers who work the trails, and biweekly surveys of the Denver Post Real Estate advertisements….”
These perennial issues have been the subject of a few studies which find that trails are quite benign in their social impact. The facts haven’t stopped groups organized against rail trail development from trumpeting that the few instances of crime are proof that trails are unsafe.
Homeowners nationwide express the same concerns and fears about proposed trails in their neighborhoods. But studies in various parts of the United States seem to show that concerns about trails lowering property values and increasing crime are unfounded. In fact, trails have consistently been shown to increase (or have no effect on) property values, to have no measurable effect on public safety, and to have an overwhelming positive influence on the quality of life for trail neighbors as well as the larger community.
The Effect of Greenways on Property Values and Public Safety; The Conservation Fund and Colorado State Parks, State Trails Program (1995)
“The study of Property Values and Public Safety was to determine what effect, if any, the presence of urban trails has had on public safety to property owners who live adjacent to a trail and on property owners who live within one block of a trail. The study also evaluated the level of public acceptance for urban trails and their effect on the quality of life in these neighborhoods…
“The need for the study arose due to concerns expressed by several different neighborhoods over the proposed construction of new trails. These concerns included fears that the presence of an urban trail might lower property values and also create a risk to public safety, thus adversely affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood. These concerns are similar to concerns voiced in the past over proposed trails that are now established and accepted….”
Three Denver trails were studied in detail: “Data was collected in the summer of 1994 by telephone interviews of residents adjacent to or near to the trails, real estate agents who buy and sell homes in metro-Denver, patrol officers who work the trails, and biweekly surveys of the Denver Post Real Estate advertisements….”