We, the undersigned support Massachusetts bill S.548/H.915, “An Act Expanding Access To Trails For People Of All Abilities”, also known as the Trails For All Act.

Accessible Trails provide nature access for older adults, people with disabilities, and those with small children (think strollers and small children with limited balance and walking distance). 

Why we need this bill: In Massachusetts people over age 65, people with disabling conditions, and children under age 5 represent 36-49% of the state’s population! Despite these population rates, access to nature for those with mobility consideration is extremely limited:

• Less than 0.5% of the state's soft-surface trails are accessible.
• Our state parks have approximately 4,000 miles of unpaved recreation trails, but only 7.5 miles are accessible.

When accessible trails do exist, they often not build with the input of those who need them most, and don't offer high-quality nature experiences. Accessible trails tend to be short, disconnected, and inequitably distributed, and in some cases inaccessible for some users because of design or construction flaws. 

A Valuable Opportunity For The State: Spending time in nature has numerous health and wellness benefits. Exposure to nature as a child promotes life-long appreciation and stewardship of the outdoors. Accessible trails can also help to protect delicate habitats, because they encourage trail users to stay on the trail rather than making their own paths. They also create a tourism opportunity for the state. Here are some stats that support these points:

• People with disabilities have higher rates of stress-related illness, than those without. Spending time in nature reduces stress.
• In 2023 Massachusetts spent 23.5 billion on avoidable health care costs. 
• In 2024 Massachusetts was the #1 state that people chose to move to for retirement
• According to a 2020 study, Adaptive Travel is a 58.7 billion dollar market in the US.
• When people with disabilities travel, they often do so with family and friends.
• Massachusetts has the fastest growing outdoor economy in the nation, is was 13.2 billion in 2023.
• In 2023 39% of people age 65+ participated in outdoor recreation, and 44% of adults over age 65 identify as having a disability.

No Time To Wait: The Trails For All bill was first introduce in the 2023/4 legislative session, but stalled out when the second committee the bill was referred to took no action. Between last time and this time, the rate of Massachusetts populations that need and benefit from accessible trails rose between 2 and 3%. As out population continues to age, these rates will only go up.

The population is here now, the need is now, the outdoor and travel economies will not wait- WE NEED TO ACT NOW! 

We need your help- Signing this petition, contacting your state legislators, and advocating with us, all make a huge impact. 

To learn more about this issue or to help advocate visit UnpavedTrailsForAll.org

What The Bill Will Do:

S.548/H.915 would establish it as the Commonwealth’s policy to maximize access to the outdoors for people of all abilities. There are three components to the bill:

1. Formally Recognize the Trail Access Work Group.

The work group is led by the Massachusetts Office Of Outdoor Recreation and is comprised of people with the lived experience of disability, those who work in disability rights, adaptive recreation, trail building, and other stakeholder from the outdoor recreation and disability communities. The group will meet for 18 months and create a report with recommendations on how to improve access/accessibility on trails. This report will be presented to the agencies responsible for building trails in the State.

A response to the report, and an action plan to make improvements, are only guaranteed if this bill is enacted.

2. Create a permanent Trail Access Advisory Council

The council will be a permanent resource for state agencies and the public, providing information about accessible trails and assisting with enacting the recommendations of the work group.

3. Establish A Trail Access Fund

This would create a place for any money allocated to accessible trails to go. Funding allocation would happen in the future through other forms of legislation.

 

Trails For All: Accessible trails are everyone spaces- places where people can access nature regardless of age or ability. In addition to furthering equity and environmental justice, accessible trails create a more welcoming recreation infrastructure across the Commonwealth, which benefits those who live, work, and play in our beautiful state.

Thank you for your support!