Publishing Trail Access Information

Publish measured trail conditions so visitors can decide whether a trail fits their abilities, equipment, and plans. In Manager, open a trail and select Access Information to add an assessment, its source, and the exact coverage it describes.

Trail Access Information, or TAI, describes objective conditions such as grade, cross-slope, tread width, surface, and obstacles. UTAP and HETAP are processes for collecting this information. Publishing measurements does not certify that a trail meets an accessibility standard or guarantee that someone can use it.

Before You Begin

Gather the assessment summary and its supporting information:

• The assessed trail or segment, with its start and end points.
• Whether the assessment covers the whole selected target or a smaller section.
• The assessment date and method, when supplied.
• Typical and maximum grade and cross-slope.
• Typical and minimum tread width.
• Surface materials, quality, and any reported proportions.
• Obstacles, their dimensions and locations, and the assessment’s reporting limits.
• Grade profiles or other references, when available.

An assessment may be incomplete. Leave missing measurements blank. A measured zero is different from a missing value. Do not fill a gap with a guess, and do not interpret an absent obstacle list as proof that there are no obstacles.

The Access Information form supports manual entry. It does not collect survey stations or calculate an assessment from the trail’s elevation profile. Do not combine independent summaries by averaging their typical values.

Add an Assessment

1. Open Locations → Trails and choose the trail.
2. Open Access Information and select Add Assessment.
3. Enter a Source Name and Source Link when available. Your current organization is the publisher.
4. Choose the Assessed Trail or Segment. Select the trail itself only when the measurements describe that trail, rather than a different route or outing.
5. Set Assessed Coverage:
• Entire Selected Target means the assessment describes the selected trail or segment in full.
• Assessed Section means it describes a smaller part. Draw that section on the map and provide a Coverage Description identifying its start, end, direction, and limits.
6. Enter the Assessment Date when known.
7. Enter the available measurements. This form uses metres for assessed length and width, and percentages for grade and cross-slope. Preserve the original units and any conversion explanation in Original Units and Conversion Notes.
8. Describe the Assessment Method and Explanation, such as the named assessment process and any supplied methodology.
9. Complete the optional surface, obstacle, and reference details below.
10. Review the source and coverage, then select Save.

The saved assessment retains its target and assessed geometry. A section assessment does not describe the remainder of the trail. A trail assessment also does not automatically describe an outing that follows only part of that trail or combines several trails.

Understand the Measurements

Grade is the trail’s slope along the direction of travel. Cross-slope is its side-to-side slope. Typical and maximum values describe different aspects of the assessment; retain the supplied meaning of each.

Typical Width describes the assessed trail’s usual tread width. Minimum Width describes its narrowest reported width. A wide typical width does not remove the significance of a narrow section.

Assessed Length describes the covered extent. Do not replace it with an outing’s round-trip distance or the length of an entire trail when only a section was assessed.

These measurements help visitors interpret conditions. Recreational difficulty and your organization’s determinations remain separate information.

Add Surface Details

Expand Surfaces and Quality and select Add Surface for each supplied material or section.

Record the material, coverage description, and supplied quality. When the source provides a proportion, enter it under Proportion of Assessed Trail (%). Keep firmness and stability information when available. A paved surface does not automatically provide a firmness or stability measurement.

If the source describes several materials without proportions, retain those materials and leave the proportions blank.

Record Obstacles and Reporting Limits

Expand Obstacles and Reporting Limits and choose the appropriate Obstacle Observation:

• Not Supplied means the available assessment does not establish an obstacle observation.
• No Obstacles Observed Within Reporting Limits is an explicit observation from the source, limited by how the assessment was conducted.
• Reported Obstacles means the source identifies obstacles to retain in the record.

Use Add Obstacle to record the type, reported magnitude and unit, location, and any notes. You can also enter the distance from the assessment’s start in metres. Describe the starting point and direction clearly so a visitor can interpret that distance.

Under Reporting Limits and Exclusions, preserve thresholds such as the smallest obstacle reported, the width and height of the surveyed corridor, and whether temporary obstacles were excluded. If the source leaves a threshold unknown, retain that uncertainty. Do not turn “not recorded” into “not present.”

Add Grade Profiles and References

Expand Grade Profiles and References and select Add Reference. Give each reference a clear name and link, with an optional description.

A profile or supporting map should describe the same assessment coverage. A linked reference does not fill in measurements that the assessment itself lacks.

Add an Organization Determination

Under Organization Determinations, select Add Determination and choose its Assessment Reference. Enter your organization’s statement, the date when known, and any guideline or evidence link.

The statement remains attributed to your organization and applies to that assessment’s recorded coverage. It does not replace measured conditions, establish another organization’s judgment, or fill missing measurements.

If your determination concerns a different extent, create the appropriate assessment first. Do not reuse a whole-trail assessment reference for a statement that applies only to an unspecified section.

Example of a Partial Assessment

Suppose a summary describes a named section with typical grade of 3.8%, maximum grade of 21.7%, typical width of 58 inches, and minimum width of 30 inches. It reports mown vegetation, a five-inch step 620.7 feet from the assessment start, and no instrumented firmness measurement.

Choose the assessed section and describe its endpoints. Convert widths to 1.4732 m and 0.762 m for the width fields, and explain the original inch measurements in Original Units and Conversion Notes. Keep the obstacle’s supplied magnitude as 5 Inches, retain its reported location, and leave an unavailable firmness measurement blank. Preserve any unknown reporting threshold in Reporting Limits and Exclusions.

Do not label the entire trail accessible from this summary. Visitors need the measurements, their coverage, and any separately attributed determination to make their own decision.

Correct, Replace, or Withdraw Information

Use Edit to correct measurements, attribution, or reporting details on a current record published by your organization. Its target and coverage stay fixed.

Use Reassess or Change Coverage to publish a replacement after a new assessment or a change in extent. Review the target and map carefully. The previous assessment remains in History rather than being reassigned to a different trail or section.

If the trail geometry or membership changes, the assessment may indicate that it no longer matches the current target. Review the original assessment before publishing a replacement. Its older measurements remain historical evidence of the recorded extent.

Use Withdraw to remove a current record from visitor display. Enter a reason so your team can understand the change later. Withdrawal preserves the record in your organization’s History.

Only the publishing organization can edit or withdraw its information. Another publisher’s visible assessment is read-only. A determination can be withdrawn independently from the assessment measurements.

Troubleshooting

My changes were not saved because the record changed. Reload the record before continuing. Someone else may have edited it, or your organization’s permission may have changed. Do not repeatedly submit an older version.

A section will not save. Check that a valid section is drawn and that its coverage description identifies the assessed extent. Do not substitute a guessed location.

The source does not provide a date or a measurement. Leave that field blank and retain any useful source explanation. Missing information should stay visible as uncertainty.

Conditions changed after the assessment. Use an alert for changing conditions or a closure for restricted access. An old assessment is not a live condition report. Replace or withdraw assessment information when appropriate.

See Locations for publishing opening hours and fees in the same Access Information tab.