MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – The Vermont Supreme Court on Friday ruled against Tunbridge landowners who were trying to prevent the town from maintaining a bike path through their land.
The owners of a farm in Tunbridge and Strafford have kept hiking trails on their land, although they date back to 1987.
Cyclists also wanted permission to use the trails, but landowners objected and stopped maintaining them; in 2022, when the Town of Tunbridge stepped in to allow people to maintain the trails on the town’s behalf, the landowners filed a lawsuit.
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The court said that because the trails are a public right-of-way, “the town has the right to maintain them to ensure public access.”
The court’s decision hinged on the definition of “trace.” For Class 1, 2 and 3 roads, maintenance is required. The trail was initially considered a Class 4 road and its maintenance was optional.
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A 1986 technical change defined “trails” in state law and clarified that towns were not responsible for maintenance. Tunbridge landowners use this definition to argue that they can control how trails are maintained.
But the court said that even though maintenance is optional, the town still has the right to ensure public access if it wishes.
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