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When we think of trails, we primarily see them as environmental or public health amenities, but there is an opportunity to reap immense economic benefits. Trails contribute to workforce attraction, increased property values, tourism, and job creation. As communities seek cost-effective strategies to support economic growth and quality of life, trail investment should be considered a core tool.

The purpose of this research report is to better understand how counties in the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) region of New Jersey are developing and funding trails. This report specifically examines the use and application of county open space trust funds (OSTF) for trail development. This builds upon our previous work with the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University on the report, Funding Opportunities and Programmatic Insights for Advancing Shared Use Paths, Trails, and Greenways in New Jersey, in which county OSTFs were identified as a potential tool for trail development.

There are four counties in the DVRPC region of NJ: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer. Despite attempts to interview staff from each county, we were unable to reach Gloucester County; therefore, this report only focuses on our research and interviews with Burlington, Camden, and Mercer counties.