[Megashnauzer]

the picture in the new imba mag shows a cool looking downhill on a powerline easement. is it hard to deal with power companies for things like this?

 

[formica]

It probably depends on the utility. We do tons of work with our Utility ( Avista) and they are really supportive of appropriate recreational usage of their land.

 

[ruralrider528]

Around here in NY there are a ton of powerline trails, mostly atv/dirtbike but I havent really heard off any conflict with trails being on their land. The local MTB trails have some stuff on powerlines too so I would say that getting trails on powerlines wouldn't be extremely difficult as opposed to getting a private owners permission. If you use satellite imagery you will notice that at least 60% of powerlines have trails on them.

 

[rockyuphill]

The things that the utility will be concerned about are: anything that affects the minimum distance between the power lines and the ground (or trail obstacle); and anything that affects the ability to get a service vehicle up the power line easement, or anything that will limit their ability to keep the right of way clear of vegetation. And if it's a very technical trail, the liability and problems that might arise from getting an emergency vehicle in or even more critically a rescue helicopter.

 

[Megashnauzer]

we have a rare hill that has a powerline easement on it. we used to ride it straight up and down but we have since cut a trail through the woods parallel to the easement. the easement was always eroding and the power company would come through and build big water breaks on it. they would fill up with sand because they were never maintained and the erosion would begin again. that picture in the imba mag look exactly like something we could build on it. we don't ever deal with the power company so i didn't know if they were into recreation under their power lines. i guess if we stayed clear of the towers.

 

[formica]

my thought is call the community liaison person at your utility. Ask them who to talk to.Most utilities want to look good to their community because then people don't get so pissed off about their utility bills.

 

[mtb777]

I remember seeing and riding quite a few trails up at DuPont State Forest.....maybe Woody could give you a hint on that.

 

[Fattirewilly]

If it's a powerline "easement", it's not the utilities land. They typically have the right of access, air rights for the line (or sub surface), the right to prevent structures in the the easement, and right to trim/kill vegetation. You'd still be dealing with the landowner assuming you're within the limits of the easement language.

Utilities sometime own their corridor outright. Check the tax maps at your local assessors office and find out who owns the land to find out who to deal with. Look up the most recent deed records, you may find reference to the deed for the utility easement which will describe the rights of the utility in question on a particular piece of land.

 

[MyOtherBrotherL]

the picture in the new imba mag shows a cool looking downhill on a powerline easement. is it hard to deal with power companies for things like this?

The picture was taken at Wakefield Park in Northern Virginia. (A really cool place to call "My local Park" - Not necessarily a destination location). The Boardwalks in the picture where the photo was taken was part of the Phase I construction at the Park. The downhill with the berms was part of the Phase III construction. Each year for the last 4 years we have been lucky enough to contract IMBA's Trail Solutions for a different project within the park. The Berm project probably did more damage to the Sweco than IMBA garnered from the contact but I digress....

To answer your question - That hill was a serious source of contention.

Yes - It was definitely on the Power Companies right of way, but the original trail was severely rutted and was dumping tons of dirt into an Accotink Stream Valley feeder every year.

Long story short.

We (Imba_Rich) presented the reroute to the local club (MORE), the Park, the Park Authority, the Friends of Accotink Creek and finally Virginia Power. We showed that we could mitigate the amount of sediment going into the stream valley by creating a retention basin at the bottom of the berms and maintaining the integrity of the road itself so it could still be traversed by a Power Company vehicle if need be.

Everybody agreed and the project went ahead.

(Let me know if you want more info)

Oh did I mention that there was the Capital Beltway HOT Lane project to take into account as well as historical and environmental aspects that had to be considered???

L