UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Pettengill, Peter R.
Dept./Program:
Natural Resources
Year:
2013
Degree:
PhD
Abstract:
Transportation is fundamental to parks and outdoor recreation. For example, every year millions of visitors travel to, from, and within national parks. But transportation can be more than this -it is often a form of recreation itself, offering many visitors their primary opportunities to experience, enjoy, and appreciate parks and related areas. Moreover, recent emphasis on alternative transportation planning has led to a spectrum of recreational travel opportunities in parks. These opportunities not only provide society with diverse travel choices, but also shape the way visitors experience recreational settings. The intent of this dissertation research is three-fold: (1) determine what constitutes high quality transportation in the context of parks and outdoor recreation, (2) understand why visitors choose one mode of travel over another, and how this might be managed and (3) develop a systems-based approach to planning and managing transportation opportunities in parks and outdoor recreation. The first phase of research is designed to integrate Levels of Service (a widely used framework in conventional transportation planning) and indicators and standards of quality (a framework for managing outdoor recreation), using surveys of visitors to a range of outdoor recreation areas.
The second phase of research builds upon this integrated model by incorporating multiple attributes of recreational travel into a stated-preference survey design. The attributes of crowding, convenience, corridor design, and cost are included in a second set of visitor surveys. The condition of these attributes helps determine what mode of travel visitors choose, and analysis of resulting data suggests how park managers might influence visitors' choices to travel by car, bus, or bicycle. The final phase of research develops a Transportation-Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (T-ROS) to help guide transportation planning and management in parks and outdoor recreation. T-ROS includes a series of matrices that align indicators of quality on one axis and standards of quality on the other axis to suggest a diverse range of transportation opportunities in parks and related areas.
The second phase of research builds upon this integrated model by incorporating multiple attributes of recreational travel into a stated-preference survey design. The attributes of crowding, convenience, corridor design, and cost are included in a second set of visitor surveys. The condition of these attributes helps determine what mode of travel visitors choose, and analysis of resulting data suggests how park managers might influence visitors' choices to travel by car, bus, or bicycle. The final phase of research develops a Transportation-Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (T-ROS) to help guide transportation planning and management in parks and outdoor recreation. T-ROS includes a series of matrices that align indicators of quality on one axis and standards of quality on the other axis to suggest a diverse range of transportation opportunities in parks and related areas.