[IndianaTrails] Students survey Greenway popularity

[Robert J. Matter]

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/oct/23/students-survey-greenway-popularity/

Students survey Greenway popularity

By MARK WILSON
Courier & Press staff writer 464-7417 or wilsonm at courierpress.com
Monday, October 23, 2006

Even in last week's cold and rain, people were out walking and biking on
the Pigeon Creek Greenway Passage trail.

Just ask the students from the University of Southern Indiana who
counted and surveyed them for a study the Greenway committee is hoping
will help secure future grants and bolster state and local government
support for the project.

"I went to check on the students one of the days, and I actually saw a
lot of people on the riverfront. It was pouring rain and bitter cold, so
that was encouraging. I think if we bring user data to them, they will
see how important the Greenway has become. I think we can bring that to
the City Council and County Council and make an impression," said
Shirley James, Greenway Committee chairwoman.

Pairs of students traded shifts along the already finished sections of
the trail, including Garvin Park and the Evansville riverfront. The
project eventually will include a 42-mile trail around the city that
connects to various parks through a series of subsidiary trails.

"I was out there on a couple of bad (weather) days. There were people
still out there. Always at lunchtime, there were a bunch of people from
the offices using the riverfront trail," said Matthew Pryzmus, a
political science major.

"Everybody I spoke to seemed like they enjoyed it and wanted to expand it."

While not all of the participating students knew a lot about the
Greenway going into the project, Pryzmus said he didn't need to be
convinced of the trail's worth.

"I used to live Downtown, so I used to use it. Not a lot of people have
something like what they are trying to achieve with this," he said.

Fellow political science student Beth Winkleman said she counted 193
people on the riverfront section of the Greenway between 11 a.m. and 3
p.m. on a Saturday.

"What really got me the most was how often the people who live here go
down there and use it," she said.

Winkleman also said she encountered people visiting from other towns who
were pleasantly surprised that Evansville had the Greenway trail and
that until she did the survey, she was unaware that other communities
such as Indianapolis have similar trails.

"I have to thank them for a very excellent job. The sad part of it was
the weather was so bad. We picked the first part of October because
usually it is so pretty," James said.

The students asked trail users such questions as where they came from
immediately before using the trail; how long they use it and how
frequently; how they got to it; whether they had used it before; and if
they were satisfied with it.

They also documented the users' race, income, education, employment
status and sex.

The information will be analyzed for a report by Uiloon Kwon, a
professor of research methods in public administration, and his graduate
students.

The report will be ready to present to the Evansville Parks Board in
November.

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