Right of way
In some cases, a government, transportation company, or conservation non-profit purchases the full ownership of real estate, including everything above and below the ground.Some jurisdictions have a separate formal process for terminating disused right-of-way easements involuntarily, such as adverse abandonment for railroads in the United States.This allows property owners to regain full use after a railroad stops running but does not initiate the legal abandonment process on its own.Railbanking is a legal maneuver that avoids full abandonment, preserving a railroad easement for future reactivation without reverting property rights to real estate owners.Rail trails are often constructed on rights-of-way that no longer host active railroads, putting the property to productive use while preventing obstructions like buildings or crossing infrastructure from being built.[2] This doctrine may also be used to assert mineral rights under neighboring government-maintained roads in some jurisdictions, a question which has become more relevant since the invention of horizontal drilling.In other jurisdictions or circumstances, the right-of-way is simply a normal parcel which happens to have an unusual shape, and it is up to the owner to sell it to abutters, a conservation non-profit, another transportation company, or some other buyer.Property outside of linear corridors, especially if improved with buildings (such as railroad stations and large highway interchanges) is more likely to be fully owned and sold off as real estate.Changes to circumstances (such as construction of a new road that connects to the dominant estate), disuse, and obstruction by the property owner may affect this type of right.In other geographic situations, several neighbors will agree to maintain (or inherit from the original developer) a private road that connects their properties, either as communally owned or as a contractual, appurtenant easement.Traffic laws (such as obeying speed limits and stop signs) typically still apply to private roads if they are open to the general public.Transferrable easements (such as the right to use a specific boat ramp not used by the property owner or operate it as a concession) are known as in gross and are typically created by arrangement.Right-of-way easements that benefit the general public are often created for foot, bridle, mountain bike, and ATV paths (often carrying a mix of users).The Rivers Access Campaign is being undertaken by the British Canoe Union (BCU) to open up the inland water-ways in England and Wales on behalf of members of the public.Waterways in the care of the Canal & River Trust are accessible for use by boats, canoeists, paddleboarders and other watercraft upon payment of an appropriate licence fee.[10] The various designations of railroad right of way are as follows:[citation needed] Construction of houses/buildings beside railway right-of-way presents a significant safety risk.[14][better source needed] Opposing these, those claiming general rights of way hark back to an anti-landed gentry position that lasted from the Land War of the 1880s to the end of British rule in 1922.[25] Rights of way have been created in the US, both by historic use (prescription) and by grants made by the national and state governments, local authorities and private landowners.[27] In the Philippines, right of way disputes often arise when landowners block access to paths or roads that have been used by the public or specific individuals for a considerable period.The issue typically centers on whether the affected parties have a legal right to use the route that traverses private property to reach a public road or a national highway.
Right of way (disambiguation)U.S. Route 25EAthens, GeorgiaJulington-Durbin Peninsulacontrolled-access highwayshigh-voltage lineswayleavehighwaypedestrians, horse and cycle ridersreal estateeasementmineral rightseminent domaintoll roadstranscontinental railroadland grantsadverse abandonmentRailbankingRail trailshorizontal drillingproperty taxescheatrailroad stationsNorfolklong-distance trailscommon laweasement by prescriptiondeed restrictionpermissive pathsright to roamWater trailCanadian canoe routesRivers Access CampaignBritish Canoe UnionEnglandCanal & River Trustpaddleboarderswatercrafttowpathscrown landinland waterways of the United Statesnavigable servitudepolice powerFreedom of navigationlaw of the seaUnited StatesCanadaCanadian Pacific RailwayUnited Kingdomprivate Acts of Parliamentcompulsory acquisitionAbandoned railwayPacific ElectricGarden GroveCaliforniaTrain StreetHanoi Train Streetsentier de grande randonnéelong distance trailsKeep Ireland OpenRepublic of Irelandmass pathsVictorian eraeasements1937 constitutionlanded gentryLand WarLissadell HouseforeshoreNec vi, nec clam, nec precarioRights of way in England and WalesEngland and WalesInner LondonCity of LondonScotlandright of wayFootpathsbridlewaysdefinitive mapsrights of waycounty councilnational park authoritylocal authoritiesScotwaysLand Reform (Scotland) Act 2003Scottish Outdoor Access Codelocal authorityNorthern IrelandUlster WayForest ServiceNational TrustWoodland Trustmuch the same legal systemQuébec CityCap DiamantstairwaysCharles BaillargéNatchez TraceNational Historic TrailprescriptionindigenousSanta Fe TrailBozeman TrailSeattleNewfoundlandEast Coast TrailAvalon PeninsulaPhilippinespublic roadnational highwayByway (road)Corpse roadDrovers' roadGreen lane (road)Historic roads and trailsMilitary roads of ScotlandRailway trackThroughwayThoroughfareToll roadAir rightsFreedoms of the airRight to lightRight to propertyEasements in English lawNoise barrier