Through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), the Murphy Administration has launched an online survey of those who develop and manage trails to help the state better understand and meet the outdoor recreation and active transportation needs of the public. The goal of this effort is to ensure that all residents, no matter where they live or their accessibility needs, have safe and equitable access to quality recreational trails.
The Statewide Trail Needs Assessment for Trail Planners and Managers is the first in a series of public outreach efforts to inform statewide trail planning, funding, and policy. This initial survey is intended for those who plan, manage, or contribute to the development and maintenance of trails and greenways in the state.
The initiative will ensure that guidance documents developed by the state address the current needs of New Jersey’s communities and provide technical assistance and actionable goals that will facilitate successful trail projects throughout the state, better connecting all New Jersey residents to safe, affordable outdoor recreation and active transportation opportunities.
In New Jersey, those who work with the development and maintenance of trails are extremely diverse and include:
- Active transportation and recreation planners who identify potential trail connections;
- Municipal administrators or clerks who work with trail funding;
- Elected officials who oversee trails or who are working to develop trails within their community;
- Public works or park employees and volunteers who maintain trails;
- Volunteers with organizations that manage trails.
“The Murphy Administration is committed to quality and equitable recreational opportunities for everyone,” said NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “This survey will help NJDEP and NJDOT better understand how trails and greenways address community priorities as well as the obstacles that are commonly faced by those who plan, develop, or maintain them. Through better understanding, we will be able to better meet the needs of our communities and residents.”
“Providing safe, equitable active transportation opportunities and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure throughout the state is a top priority for the Administration,” said NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor. “The New Jersey Department of Transportation is excited to collaborate with our partners at NJDEP to accomplish the shared goal of creating a more resilient, healthier, thriving, and better-connected New Jersey.”
Visit the survey link to take the survey by January 10, 2025.
Participants may exit and return to the survey using the same device, with progress being saved automatically.
Statewide Trails Planning
Data collected in this survey will be used to shape upcoming guidance documents, as well as to inform funding and policy decisions related to trails. The survey addresses key topics that have been identified as priorities by the planning team, including funding, connecting and facilitating trail projects, trail user safety, and action items for further developing New Jersey's system of trails. While this survey is intended for those who work with trails, a future survey will help identify the needs and priorities of New Jersey’s trail users.
The Statewide Trail Needs Assessment for Planners and Managers expands on NJDEP’s recently published 2023-2027 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, entitled Outside, Together! This planning initiative was informed through broad public engagement, including focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and two surveys that reached more than 15,000 New Jersey residents combined.
The conclusions of this strategic plan were clear – trails are a priority for New Jersey residents. Outside, Together! outlined the need to update statewide trail planning documents to enable government, nonprofit, and private land managers to better serve the needs of New Jersey’s trail users and local communities, to improve community connectivity, and to increase outdoor recreation and active transportation opportunities. The benefits of trails and greenways have also been emphasized in recent NJDOT planning and assistance efforts, such as through the NJDOT’s Planning for Greenways Guidebook released in 2019.
NJDEP and NJDOT recognize the wide-ranging benefits of trails and greenways, as well as the identified need to develop and improve the system of trails throughout the state. In response, the agencies are partnering to build upon previous plans, including Outside, Together! and the 2009 New Jersey Trails Plan, through the development of a series of statewide trails planning guidance documents. These will serve to provide updated trail planning and management guidance that reflects current needs, priorities, and available resources, allowing the state to better meet the increasing and changing outdoor recreation and active transportation needs of the public.
Details on Taking the Survey
Through a series of multiple choice and a few open-ended questions, the survey covers a variety of key topics to develop a holistic view of the purposes that New Jersey’s trails serve, the strategies that have helped to lead to successful trail projects in the state, and the hurdles that trail projects commonly face. Topics identified through an analysis of the survey findings will be addressed in the guidance documents. The survey provides the opportunity for participants to share their success stories, which may be featured in the guidance to highlight best practices and recommendations for successful trail project completion.
Those who work with trails are the foundation that, together, will allow us to develop an interconnected system of trails and greenways throughout New Jersey. Their input is essential to helping the state better understand trail-related needs and priorities of individual communities and trail networks, with the goal of providing guidance to facilitate trail projects moving forward and to renew a collective vision for more connected, vibrant New Jersey.
The survey's Background Information and Trail Planning and Management sections take approximately 10 minutes total to complete. For those who also work with trail funding in their role, the Trail Funding sections take an additional 5 to 8 minutes to complete.
To learn more about the statewide trails planning, visit New Jersey’s Trails Program website.
NJDEP Photo/Adaptive trail, Long Pond Ironworks State Park