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LRC Recommendations (8/30/99) Unofficial notes from Sandy Shafer, 10th District Councilperson
1. Have one central person in an appropraite state agency who is responsible for the dissemination of railtrail information, including accepting notices of railroad abandonments and alerting interested local governments, state agencies, and private groups, providing information about available funding options (including TEA-21 applications), and who is familiar with inter-agency collaboration on railtrail efforts. 2. Reauthorize the Task Force, perhaps including representatives from interested railtrail entites, such as state government agencies and/or private groups. The focus could be on working with any physical assessment of corridors which might be done and creating a state wide plan for creating railtrails. 3. In addition to other efforts, work with the mechanisms already in place which provide for inclusion of railtrails in the KY Trails System (HB643) 4. Have the Dept of Parks comply with KRS 148.690(1) and (2) that provide the Dept of Parks shall review all formal declarations of Railroad rights-of-way abandonments by the Surface Transportation Board for possible inclusion in the Ky Trails System. 5. Have the Transportation Cabinet notify the Dept of Parks of railroad abandonments. 6. Have the Transportation Cabinet keep a record of abandoned railroads in KY. 7. Require that state agencies which receive abandonment notices (such as the Public Service Commission and the Historic Preservation Office) to immediately forward those notices to the Dept of Parks, Trail Cordinator and the reauthorized task force. 8. The Trails Cordinator will send letters to the Area Development Districts, local historical societies, local chamber of commerce, and the KY Association of Counties, task force members and other pertinent local government organizations notifying them the potential for raitrail development in the Commonwealth. 9. The Rails to Trails Task Force working with the Trail Cordinator will cause a complete assessment of the abandoned railroad corridors in KY to be done (much like WV), including an on the ground assessment of the corridor's physical condition and feasibility of conversion to a railtrail. Recommend that the corridors to be mapped electronically with data convertible to internet format, create a website setting out the data and linking to local tourism sites. 10. The Trails cordinator will develop a "how to manual" which explains the process for acquiring, funding and developing a railtrail in KY. 11. Enact a statue that would set in place a state railbanking law that would increase the length of time railroads give notice for abandonment and time which communities can respond. Included in this would be a provision where Railroads can opt out of additional days due to say industrial use. 12. Conversion of a corridor to a railtrail with possible future rail use is consistent with an easement not an abandonment of the easement. |
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