Rights of way

Right of way is a term used to describe "the legal right, established by usage or grant, to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another", or "a path or thoroughfare subject to such a right". A similar right of access also exists on some public land in the United States and Canada, as well as Australia and New Zealand (where such land may alternatively be called Crown land).

In some countries, especially in Northern Europe, where the freedom to roam has historically taken the form of general public rights, a right of way may not be restricted to specific paths or trails. Alternatively, the right of way may be limited. When one person owns a piece of land which is bordered on all sides by lands owned by others, a court will be obliged to grant that person a right of way through the bordering land.

A further definition, chiefly in American transport, is that it is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, this can be for a highway, public footpath, railway, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines.

As well this phrase describes priority of traffic flow. The New Oxford Dictionary defines it as "the legal right of a pedestrian, vehicle, or ship to proceed with precedence over others in a particular situation or place", and in hiking etiquette, where when two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the right of way.

In England and Wales, other than in the 12 Inner London Boroughs and the City of London, public rights of way are paths on which the public have a legally protected right to pass and re-pass. The law in England and Wales differs from that in Scotland in that rights of way only exist where they are so designated (or are able to be designated if not already) whereas in Scotland any route that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way, and in addition there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist.

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Wikipedia