National Trail Surfaces Study

Part II. National Trail Surface Survey Final Report

I. Introduction

Purpose

In a collaborative effort between the U.S. Access Board, the National Center on Accessibility, and Oklahoma State University, researchers sought to provide qualified professionals, resource specialists and operations staff of parks and other recreational properties with trails in the United States with descriptive and/or comparative information about the status of construction practices of pedestrian/hiker, natural surface trails The purpose of the survey research study was to gain insight from professionals affiliated with trail management pertaining to trails’ construction, repair, and maintenance activities. This study’s objective was to gather information about current natural surface trail construction, the products or applications used on the trails’ surfaces, and the effectiveness of the surfaces to last.

Background

The diversity of trails in this country is only matched by the diversity of environments in which they are located. A surface that might be firm and stable in one region of the country may be not firm and not stable in another; a surface that may be firm and stable in July may be not firm and not stable in December; and a surface that was firm and stable last year, may be not firm and not stable this year. These are just a few of the problems faced by Land Managers who are trying to make decisions on natural surfacing materials that create a firm and stable trail. Currently, there are not enough answers to provide to Land Managers because qualitative data on existing natural surface trails has not been compiled and distributed for specific regions.

As previously reported, the original intent of the National Trail Surface Study was to gather longitudinal data on different natural trail surface materials across a variety of regions throughout the United States to determine the impact of climatic influences and their effect on firmness and stability of those surfaces over time. Owing to the downturn in economic and human resources starting in 2008, parks that had previously committed to participate in the study withdrew, leaving only the original site (Bradford Woods) for testing over the 51 months data were collected. In an effort to gain insight into the types of natural surface materials being used on trails nationally, the researchers proposed a new course of study to gather data via survey method. The new scope of work was to conduct a study of trail managers to gain information on trail construction, repair, and maintenance. The intended outcome was to establish and maintain a database of regionally relevant information on trail surface materials and construction practices. Oklahoma State University was commissioned in 2011 to develop and conduct a survey of trail managers to ascertain information about natural trail surface materials, and construction practices used in different region of the country. The accessibility of the trails and surface materials were not a focus of this survey.

II. Research Methodology

Beginning in 2010 NCA and the Access Board began strategizing on how to provide a useful resource to trail managers on what natural surface materials were being used regionally across the country, and what maintenance issues were associated with different surface materials. There was increasing interest and demand for information about what natural surface materials would be blend into various environments, be eco‐friendly, suitable in different climates, terrains, and remain firm and stable for visitors with disabilities. The creation of a database to which information could be initially populated through a survey of trail managers, maintenance issues updated at least semi‐annually and available for use by the public was the desired outcome.

Prior to participating in this survey, prospective participants were advised to spend some time gathering information pertaining to research elements (trail’s geographic information, surface product information, decisions related to trails etc.). Initially, it was decided that the survey would run for four (4) rounds; however results from the first round made it evident to the research team and the funding agencies that modifications were necessary not only pertaining to the initial instrument, but to the targeted populations. Therefore, a new database, which consisted of the names of all Recreational Trails Program administrators, was constructed based on a contact list with email addresses which was posted on the website of American Trails Organization. Additionally, the research team was able to gather new contact information of trail professionals through networking in a conference. In total, three panels of prospective professionals were created.

Selection of Methodology

The National Center on Accessibility subcontracted with Oklahoma State University (OSU) to develop a research methodology to collect initial data from which a database of trails could be established and to which data could be added and updated over time. A repeated survey measurements method was chosen by which survey respondents would initially complete survey questions within eight research sections:

SECTION #1 Geographic, demographic, and political information (type of management agency, park location, trail name, age of trail, length of trail, traffic on trail, and similar data)

SECTION #2 Trail surface composition (e.g. natural, native, aggregate, soil stabilizer, etc.) information (product type, manufacturer name, warranty/guarantees’ information, and similar data)

SECTION #3 Trail pre‐installation specifications (soil type/composition, slope of surface)

SECTION #4 Sub‐base installation (date of installation, aggregate type used, aggregate depth, installation contractor, and similar data)

SECTION #5 Trail surface installation (date of installation, aggregate type used, aggregate depth, installation contractor, and similar data)

SECTION #6 Maintenance since installation (length of time between installation and first repair, cause for first repair, number of complete replacements, condition of trail’s surface over time)

SECTION #7 Quarterly maintenance (number of maintenance activities performed during the last quarter, condition of the trail during the last quarter, and occurred unusual events)

SECTION #8 Photographs of the trail and surrounding environment

Once completed, respondents would then receive a request to update data quarterly on sections 7 and 8 (maintenance issues and photographs of trail changes). The repeated measurements method would allow for a longitudinal view of changes in natural trail surfaces over time.

Selection of Participants

The principal investigators at OSU were to pilot test the survey instruments with professional contacts in parks and recreation that manage pedestrian trails designed, developed, and maintained with the natural surface materials or applicable bonded synthetic materials. These professional practitioners were in communities and agencies located in Oklahoma, north Texas, western Arkansas, and southern Kansas. The survey was originally developed in the SurveyGizmo platform. The final survey was administered in the Qualtrics platform. Appendix E provides the survey, as it was distributed through OSU Qualtrics.

Requests for participation in the survey were announced through the American Trails website, contacts with national trail or accessibility coordinators in the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management.

III. Results of the Study

Two hundred fifty-three professionals were sent the survey, 154 (61%) of which accessed the survey. Prospective participants were asked to answer questions pertaining to inclusion criteria set by the researchers and the funding agencies–whether the trail was predominately pedestrian/hiker and the trail surface was other than asphalt, concrete or boardwalk. Among those who accessed the survey, only 104 professionals were eligible to participate. For a survey for which participation was estimated not to exceed twenty (20) minutes, the duration mean was documented to be 11 hours and 39 minutes. This probably includes considerable time away from the computer during which time the survey remained “open” on the user’s site.

The rate of full completion of the survey questions was extremely low yielding spotty results for comparison. Of the surveys submitted thirty‐nine provided adequate (albeit not complete) basic information related to surface materials types and construction and were extracted for further examination. Responses were received from across the country and from a variety of agency types with the majority coming from state/local government and federal entities (Table 7).

Respondents were asked if the trail on which they reported was designated as accessible. Table 8 shows that of the qualified surveys, 15 indicated their trail was accessible. However, no other defining information (slopes, tread obstacles, etc.) is available to support the level of accessibility of these trails.

The geographic distribution of qualified respondents were scattered across the United States. Figure N illustrates the location of participating trails in twenty‐two states and the District of Columbia.

Figure N. Regional Distribution of Trail

Of the thirty-nine trails reviewed, ninety-two percent used naturals trail surface materials without stabilizers and only 7.7 percent used a stabilizer product. Table 9 shows that the predominant types of trail materials used were either Native/Natural soils (43.6%) or Crushed Rock/Aggregate (51.3%). Interestingly, however, a general observation notes that for trails that were designated as accessible, the trail material used was overwhelmingly Crushed Rock (93%) vs. Native/Natural soils (7%).

When asked if the respondent would recommend the trail surface material used, nineteen respondents indicated that they would (48.7%) . Table 10 shows the surface materials recommended by region and surface composition. Also included are comments provided by respondents about the trail surface or maintenance related issues.

Five respondents indicated they would not recommend the trail surface and those responses are found in Table 11. Also included are comments provided by respondents about the trail surface or maintenance related issues. Fifteen respondents did not provide a response.

Construction practices varied among agencies. Of the thirty‐nine reported trails only eight had surface materials applied solely by contractors. Agency personnel and/or volunteers were utilized in eighteen of the trails and for an additional five trails agency/volunteer personnel in conjunction with contractors applied the surface materials. Application methods also ranged from hand labor only to various forms of compaction methods. Table 12 shows the types of application methods utilized and the personnel who applied the materials.

Some survey respondents provided photographs of the trail and the surrounding environment. Five aggregate trail surfaces were recommended by responding the trail manager and had accompanying photographs. In addition, all the trails have also been designated as accessible trails. While five trails composed of native soil were recommended surfaces, no photographs were available. Photographs of ten of the thirty-nine trails were provided by respondents and can be found in Appendix F.

Summary of Results

The purpose of the trails surface survey was to provide qualified professionals, resource specialists and operations staff of parks and other recreational properties with trails in the United States with descriptive and/or comparative information about the status of construction practices of pedestrian/hiker, natural surface trails. Despite a sixty-one percent survey access rate of survey invitees, the overall completion rate was extremely low. Therefore, the results can be addressed in terms of a general trend in types of surface materials used. The majority of trail surfaces were natural materials that did not use soil stabilizers. However, information on construction practices and maintenance issues was limited in the responses received. A majority of agencies utilized their own personnel or volunteers to apply surface materials or they worked along with contractors. When asked if respondents would recommend the trail surface materials on which they reported, many (48.7%) indicated they would, however accompanying comments received provided limited supporting information for those recommendations.

Recommendations for Further Action

The National Center on Accessibility continues to receive technical assistance inquiries from the field about what types of natural surface materials are available for use on pedestrian trails and how various surface materials perform in different regions of the country. While the intended outcome of the National Trail Surface survey was to establish a database that trail managers could access for trail surface material information and performance data, the data received were disappointedly sparse. The establishment of a national database of trail surface materials used for pedestrian trails, the firmness and stability of those surfaces and how well those surface materials last over time continues to be an identified need for trail managers.

Currently two national resources are available that provide information to trail users on trail locations and trail characteristics. The National Recreation Trail Database hosted by American Trails (http://www.americantrails.org/NRTDatabase/) contains data provided by federal land management agency trail managers. Trail Explorer (www.trailexplorer.com) developed by Beneficial Designs provides trail characteristic information based on data collected and input by trail managers using the Universal Trail Assessment Process (UTAP). Collaboration with one or both providers -- American Trails and Beneficial Designs -- to expand the collected information to include specific natural surface materials used and performance over time on the reported natural pedestrian trails may be an avenue to explore.