Greenway User Counts and Surveys

2. Greenway User Counts and Surveys Summer 2011 Internship Project Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department Ashlyn Barefoot, Tyler Bolton-Furhman, Meghan Hawkins, Radford Hyde, Abby Phipps, Scott Riggsbee, Spencer Stultz, and Greg Thompson

3. Project Background Implementation Survey and Count Results Evaluation and Recommendations

4. Project BackgroundProject Origin • Current Capital Area Greenway System: • Important to City of Raleigh and to its patrons • New Greenways to be added • Room for improvements

5. Project Background Project Origin • Before our project the Greenway System lacked documentation of: • Usage • Demand • Level of Service • Demographics

6. Project Background Implementation Survey and Count Results Evaluation and Recommendations

7. ImplementationData Collection Sites • Walnut Creek Trail • Lake Johnson • Mine Creek (Inman Connector) • Shelly Lake • Crabtree Creek

8. ImplementationData Collection Dates • Wednesday, July 6th     5:00 PM-7:00 PM • Thursday, July 7th         7:00 AM-9:00 AM • Saturday, July 9th         12:00 PM-2:00 PM

9. ImplementationWhy did we choose those dates? • According to the National Pedestrian and Biking Project we needed to do different days of the week as well as different times of the day on those days. • National bicycle and pedestrian documentation project. (2011). Retrieved from http://bikepeddocumentation.org/

10. ImplementationMaterials • Surveys • Site conditions form • Envelope for completed surveys

11. ImplementationGuidelines • Professional Image • Script

12. ImplementationMethodology for User Counts • Male/Female • Age • Transportation Mode • Group • Each give the department information for potential programming on the Greenway, as well as target audiences for marketing

13. ImplementationUser Counts

14. ImplementationMethodology for Surveys • Completed in 1-2 minutes • Information examples • Home zip code • Usage • Safety and improvements • Demographic information • Comments

15. Project Background Implementation Survey and Count Results Evaluation and Recommendations

16. Survey and Count Results • Total of 359 survey’s collected from all five sites • Total of 1,431 user counts at all five sites • We collected this information over three days during the week from July 4th – July 10th

17. Survey and Count ResultsCount General Information • Of the 1,431 counts 1,100 came from the Lake Johnson and Shelly Lake sites • Of the 1,431 counts Young Adults and Adults made up 84% of the patrons while Seniors and Minors accounted for only 16% • Saturday July 9th was the busiest day with 535 counts or 38% • 783 or 55% patrons were male and 648 or 45% were female

18. Survey and Count ResultsTotal Greenway Users # of Users

19. Survey and Count ResultsBiking v. Walking # of Users

20. Survey and Count ResultsMales vs. Females .

21. Survey and Count ResultsSurvey General Info • Of the 359 surveys 260 or 72% came from Lake Johnson and Shelley Lake • Saturday July 9th was the busiest day for surveys with 131 collected or 36% • 336 people filled in their gender, of that 51% were male and 49% were female • 336 people filled in their age, of that 79% were either Young Adults or Adults and 21% were either Seniors or Minors

22. Survey and Count ResultsWhen are trails being used?

23. Survey and Count ResultsHow are trails being used?

24. Survey and Count ResultsPotential Program Interest

25. Survey and Count ResultsTrends/Patterns • User Conflict • Biking vs. Walking? • Passive vs. Active • Exercise vs. Leisure? • Directive vs. In-directive • Self vs. Program

26. Survey and Count ResultsUser Conflict

27. Survey and Count ResultsPassive vs. Active

28. Survey and Count ResultsDirective vs. In-directive • Survey data shows that over 50% of users are interested in more directive oriented recreation such as fitness classes and scheduled weekly runs • Count data reflects this through the number of users that were counted at Shelley Lake on Wednesday 7/6 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. • This day presented us with the highest user count of this project due as a result of scheduled weekly runs by a local community organization

29. Survey and Count ResultsRecommendations • Bike Lanes • With the number of patrons at locations such as Lake Johnson and Shelley Lake user conflict is inevitable. • Adding a bike lane to current trails or creating new “bike only trails” would reduce this problem • Pet Waste Stations • 29% of patrons would like to see more stations on the greenway • More regulation of rules regarding leash and waste policies

30. Survey and Count ResultsRecommendations • Signage • Do’s instead of Do Not’s • Will visually assist patrons with following greenway etiquette

31. Survey and Count ResultsRecommendations • Potential Programs • Can we develop new programs that are geared towards greenway users and directive recreation? • Weekly Runs? Guided Hikes? Nature Education Marquis? • Are resources available? • Trail Monitors/Safety Patrols • Current staff that monitor and travel on heavily populated trails at different times • Will regulate bikers, trail use, pet regulations, trash clean up and overall safety of the system

32. Project Background Implementation Survey and Count Results Evaluation and Recommendations

33. Evaluation and RecommendationsGuidelines and Materials • Low cost of administration • Easy access to materials needed • Employees involved in the study do not have to go through intensive training

34. Evaluation and RecommendationsSite Choice • Distance of site choices from each other • Walnut Creek • This site was an outlier in our study of the Greenway • Further study on Greenway use in low socioeconomic areas of the city

35. Evaluation and RecommendationsSeasonal and Time Variation • Seasonal Variation • Allows the department to understand usage of the Greenway throughout the year, rather than solely in the summer • Time of Day Variation • In the future the study could allow the department to understand peak hours of Greenway usage throughout the city

36. Evaluation and RecommendationsSurvey and Count Logistics • Online Survey • Allow Greenway users to take the survey at their convenience • More staff for heavily used sites • Some sites could use one or two more people during the study to ensure accuracy

37. Evaluation and RecommendationsSurvey Benefits • Survey is developed • Can be used for short term and long term evaluation