The act granting a right of way is often vague and does not help to clarify matters. For example, the act conferring on one person the right to use another person`s road will often say something like: „as well as a right of way on the existing road to enter and leave the [property]”, and any subsequent act on the road says „subject to a right of way on the existing road”. Often, there is no other written document that provides more detail about what the parties (owner(s) and users of the right of way actually intended – and understood – meant the right of way. NCDOT requires 45 feet for local subdivision roads. Collector roads require 50 feet; Five-lane highways require 80 feet and cul-de-sacs must have a right-of-way radius of 50 feet. The demand for wireless infrastructure in the right-of-way has been a major challenge for state transportation departments seeking to balance road safety, operation, maintenance and aesthetics. Requests for accommodation are carefully considered. The FHWA calls on state DOTs and local public authorities to protect the right of way (especially new surface facilities), stating, „The design, location, and manner in which utilities use and occupy the right-of-way are consistent with clear road guidelines for the highway in question and ensure a safe travel environment.” Over time, the road can stay in place by prescription. Any party who has a legal interest in the road may also move it at their own expense. The aggrieved person may also bring an action against the promoter if it can be located. Any act to a local government specifically intended for the road, right-of-way or public purpose could be interpreted as a dedication that merely conveys an easement. Where the intention is to grant interest on taxes, that intention should be clearly stated and the use should be unrestricted or, where use is a condition, the condition should be clearly indicated with a specific right of withdrawal.
Each party to a right of way has an idea of what that right of way is – but often these ideas are different. This failure to clarify what both parties actually intended to do can lead to protracted, costly and bitter disputes between current or prospective owners of the road and those who believe they have certain rights to use the right of way. A written right-of-way agreement signed from the outset is a relatively easy way to avoid this. You just need to focus on the problems ahead of time. Subdivision roads with dedicated right-of-way, registered or approved by a county board after September 30, 1975, cannot be included in the state highway system unless the highway meets NCDOT minimum standards for right of way, gradient, orientation, construction, and paving. There must also be at least two (2) homes inhabited by 1/10 mile. Roads less than 2/10 mile must have four (4) homes. Here are 10 things you may not have known about rights of way: This failure to clarify what both parties mean can be a path to protracted, costly and bitter disputes between current or subsequent owners of the road and people who believe they have certain rights to use the right of way beyond what the original parties actually intended.
Unfortunately, these disputes sometimes lead to legal action. What could easily have been settled in advance can now be left to a court years later – and neither party is likely to be satisfied with the outcome. Under North Carolina law, a developer transferring ownership must provide the buyer with a tool to determine whether the right of way on which the property is located is public or private. If it is public, it must be indicated that the right of way and the roads on it comply with NCDOT standards. If it is a private sector, it must be indicated who will maintain the roads and that NCDOT will not maintain them. This article focuses on access on foot, by bicycle, on horseback or along a waterway, while right of way (transportation) focuses on land use rights for highways, railways and pipelines. In England and Wales, with the exception of the 12 boroughs of Inner London and the City of London, public roads are public roads over which the public has a legally protected right to pass and repass. The law in England and Wales differs from that of Scotland in that rights of way only exist if they are designated (or can be designated if they have not already been designated), whereas in Scotland any section that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way and there is also a general presumption of access to the landscape. There are also private rights of way or easements. The right of way is a legal right of one to cross the property of another. It is usually granted in the form of a permanent straight strip of land determined by surveying. Freedom to wander, or the right of everyone, is the right of the general public to access certain public or private property for leisure and exercise.
Access is allowed by any open lot, in addition to existing trails and trails. A private right of way generally gives a landowner the right to use someone else`s property, usually a road, to get to and from their land. This right is usually granted in the form of a deed, similar to a title deed. Each party to a right of way believes that they understand how the right of way can be used – but often each party`s understanding is very different. The International Right of Way Association (IRWA) is a professional organization of global infrastructure real estate practitioners specializing in rights-of-way training and certification programs. IRWA`s goal is „to improve people`s quality of life through infrastructure development”. IRWA comprises more than 70 locals around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Since a public right of way is generally an easement, when that right of way is released, the claim for rights in the land underlying that right of way – held by adjacent landowners – becomes „unencumbered” by that easement. What the festival causes is the extinction of the right of way. One of the public holiday laws, RCW 35.79.040, states: „If a street or lane of a city or municipality is cleared by the city or council, the property within the boundaries so cleared shall belong to the adjacent owners, half each.” Unfortunately, this language is somewhat clumsy as it implies that adjacent owners did not own the property in rights of way prior to the holidays – which, as I explained above, is usually not the case. In London v. Seattle, 93 Wn.2d 657, 666 (1980), describes the legal effect of street vacations better than the law: „The general rule is that when a road is leased, the public easement is extinguished and adjacent owners regain unencumbered property in the middle of the road.” (Emphasis added.) If a city or county does own paid ownership of the land underlying the cleared right-of-way, the city or county would still own it after the holiday, despite the legal wording of RCW 35.79.040.
