Trail Inventory + Condition Assessment
Scope Tip
Clearly define what decisions the assessment is intended to inform and the level of assessment needed. A condition inventory, an assessment that diagnoses problems and recommends treatments, and an assessment intended to support budgeting or an O&M Plan require different levels of field investigation, analysis, and documentation.
Scope Item Definition
Inventory and assess existing trails, trail systems, and trail features to document current conditions, identify maintenance or rehabilitation needs, understand the causes of trail degradation or deficiencies, and inform future management and project decisions.
Work may include collecting trail location and condition data; evaluating conditions against applicable specifications or management objectives; identifying causes of degradation; and developing recommended treatments, priorities, quantities, and cost or resource estimates.
Depending on the scope and intended use, findings may also inform an Operations and Maintenance Plan (O&M Plan), implementation priorities, budgets, or future scopes of work.
When / Where It Applies
Trail inventory and condition assessment may be appropriate when an owner needs to:
Establish or update an inventory of existing trails and trail features.
Understand the current condition of an individual trail or trail system.
Identify and prioritize maintenance or rehabilitation needs.
Diagnose recurring or systemic trail problems rather than simply addressing their symptoms.
Evaluate conformance with applicable trail specifications, management objectives, or agency standards.
Identify and quantify work needed for future maintenance or rehabilitation.
Estimate costs, labor, materials, equipment, or other resources needed to complete identified work.
Support budgeting, funding requests, implementation planning, or future project scopes.
Inform development or updating of an O&M Plan.
Integrate information into an existing trail inventory, asset-management, or assessment system.
Scope Considerations
Depending on the project, the scope should consider and clearly define:
Trails, trail systems, geographic areas, and trail features to be inventoried or assessed.
Purpose and intended use of the assessment.
Level of detail, assessment methodology, and applicable trail specifications, management objectives, or condition standards.
Trail conditions, deficiencies, maintenance or rehabilitation needs, and causes of degradation to be evaluated and documented.
Required field data and documentation, such as measurements, photographs, GPS/GIS data, condition ratings, and mapping.
Whether needed work should be identified and quantified, including recommended treatments or prescriptions.
Whether maintenance or rehabilitation needs should be prioritized and the criteria for prioritization.
Whether cost estimates or estimates of labor, materials, equipment, or other resources are required.
Whether findings should inform or include an O&M Plan, implementation plan, budget, future scope of work, or other management recommendations.
Required data formats, GIS standards, databases, or agency-specific inventory and assessment systems.
Owner-Provided Information
The owner should provide the following, if available and applicable:
Existing trail inventories, maps, GIS data, and trail centerlines.
Previous condition assessments, trail logs, maintenance records, or inspection reports.
Trail specifications, management objectives, intended uses, difficulty classifications, or other applicable standards.
Existing plans, studies, O&M Plans, or other management documents.
Known maintenance, drainage, structural, user-impact, or resource concerns.
Existing asset-management, inventory, or assessment systems and applicable data standards.
Relevant property, jurisdictional, environmental, cultural-resource, or regulatory information.
Available information about access, seasonal conditions, and other factors affecting field assessment.
Deliverables
Depending on the scope and intended use, deliverables may include:
Trail and trail-feature inventory.
Existing-condition documentation and condition ratings.
Maps and GIS/spatial data.
Georeferenced photographs or other field documentation.
Identification and location of maintenance and rehabilitation needs.
Identification of causes of trail degradation or recurring problems.
Recommended treatments or prescriptions.
Quantities or estimates of needed work.
Prioritized maintenance or rehabilitation recommendations.
Cost estimates and estimates of labor, materials, equipment, or other resources.
O&M Plan or implementation plan.
Assessment report, summary, database, or other documentation suitable for the owner's intended use.
Pricing & Payment Considerations
Trail inventory and condition assessment is commonly priced based on the anticipated level of effort. Factors affecting pricing may include:
Number and mileage of trails to be assessed.
Geographic extent, site access, and dispersion of the trail system.
Level of field investigation and documentation required.
Number and complexity of trail features to be inventoried or assessed.
Required GPS/GIS data collection, mapping, photography, or database entry.
Required analysis, recommendations, prioritization, and work-quantity development.
Cost or resource estimating requirements.
Development of an O&M Plan or other implementation guidance.
Required meetings, presentations, or review cycles.
Work may be priced as a lump sum, by trail mile or other defined unit, or on a time-and-materials basis with a not-to-exceed amount, depending on how clearly the level of effort can be defined.
Common Scope & Contracting Issues
Not clearly defining what decisions or future work the assessment is intended to inform.
Using “trail assessment” without defining the required level of detail, methodology, or deliverables.
Documenting visible problems without identifying their underlying causes.
Not identifying the trail specifications, management objectives, or other criteria against which existing conditions should be evaluated.
Not defining required data, mapping, photography, measurements, or documentation standards.
Assuming that identifying maintenance needs also includes recommended treatments, quantities, priorities, or cost estimates.
Not defining whether the assessment should result in an O&M Plan or other implementation guidance.
Not accounting for access, travel time, seasonal conditions, or the field time required to adequately assess the trail system.
Collecting assessment data in a format that cannot be readily incorporated into the owner's existing GIS, inventory, asset-management, or maintenance systems.