active transportation

This article addresses the factors that contribute to a successful off-street trail. Although written from the public health perspective it offers an analysis of trail characteristics that might induce further use. The authors examine the Chicago Lakefront Trail, the White Rock Lake Trail in Dallas, and the Los Angeles River Trail for factors that might affect use, such as the presence of a café, litter, noise, higher vegetation density, drainage features, tunnel present, and natural areas adjacent to the trail. One factor that surprised the researchers as negatively correlated to use was the increase in the number of natural features near the trail. They concluded that safety concerns drove this trend, especially given the positive correlation of streetlights to use. The concluding page of the main text of article includes a boxed section entitled “SO WHAT? Implications for Practitioners and Researchers”. Overall, this article is of use to planners looking to bolster the facilities that foster TrOD.