(1) Upon the request of the department, the Department of Transportation shall provide information to the department on abandoned and to-be-abandoned railroad rights-of-way.

(2) The Department of Transportation and the department shall coordinate their evaluations of potential acquisitions and their acquisition priorities with respect to abandoned railroad rights-of-way in order to avoid competing for the same corridors.

(3) After the Department of Transportation acquires abandoned railroad rights-of-way for future transportation purposes, the Department of Transportation shall lease such rights-of-way to a public agency or private organization for interim public greenway or trail use if:

(a) The public agency or private organization has requested use of the right-of-way for interim public recreational trail use;

(b) The public agency or private organization agrees in writing to assume all liability and management responsibilities as defined by the Department of Transportation; and

(c) The use of the right-of-way as a recreational trail does not interfere with the ultimate transportation purposes of the property as determined by the secretary of the Department of Transportation.

(4) If the Department of Transportation determines that an abandoned railroad right-of-way which has been leased for interim recreational trail use is needed for transportation purposes, the Department of Transportation shall work with the leasing agency to accommodate, when feasible, the existing trail use in conjunction with the use of the right-of-way for transportation.

History.—s. 6, ch. 87-328; s. 107, ch. 94-356; s. 14, ch. 96-389.