2011 Outdoor Recreation Demand Study of Towson University Students

7/28/2019 2011 Outdoor Recreation Demand Study of Towson University Students.

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2011 Outdoor RecreationDemand StudyTowson University Student Pouplation

Jason Boothe

GEOG 417

Dr Morgan


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents..................................................................ii

Introduction.........................................................................1Data Gathering...........................................................................1

Data Analysis........................................................................2Demographics.............................................................................2Recreation Activity.....................................................................2Facility Demand..........................................................................4Facility Funding..........................................................................4

Data Interpretation...............................................................5Recreation Activity.....................................................................5Facility Demand..........................................................................6

Facility Funding..........................................................................8

Appendix..............................................................................AForm A.......................................................................................AForm B.......................................................................................CForm C.......................................................................................DForm D.......................................................................................E

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Introduction

From March 2nd to April 6th a survey was conducted of the student

population of Towson University in regards to their Outdoor RecreationHabits. For the purpose of this report the sample group will be Malesunder twenty-one. The survey contained questions in regards to thenumber of times listed activities were participated in, in the past year,what outdoor recreational facilities those surveyed would like to seemore of in the State of Maryland, how those surveyed would prefer tosee facilities financed; as well as some demographic questions. Theresults were compiled and compared to the demand survey resultspresented in the Maryland SCORP. Numerical results for this study arepresented at the end of this report in the Appendix.

Data Gathering

The gathering of data for this study required that surveys of thestudent body of Towson University be conducted. On several occasionsfrom March 2nd to April 6th the student body was canvased for surveysubjects. Approximately fifty subjects were approached, resulting intwenty-two completed and usable surveys. Of those not willing toparticipate in the survey the majority stated they were above the agelimit sought, under twenty-one. Other reasons for non-participationranged from going to class, busy, meeting up with others, as well as

potential participants giving no particular reason for their non-participation. Determining sites for the selection of potential surveysubjects initially proved difficult, but it was later determined thatpositioning near the dorm complexes resulted in a higher responserate. At the dorms subjects were mostly selected from those headingtowards as opposed to away from the dorms. While not the easiest wayof information gathering the face-to-face surveying technique is one ofthe more effective ways to obtain data for this kind of study, otherthen actual observation of subjects.

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Data Analysis

Demographics

The target demographic for this study was males under twenty-one years of age, of which all of the twenty-two surveyed subjectsstated they were. Of the twenty-two eleven (50%) stated they wereeighteen, five (23%) stated they were nineteen, and six (27%) statedthey were twenty. The majority of the survey subjects stated they wereresidents of the state of Maryland (18 representing 83% of allsurveyed), with Frederick and Anne Arundel being the counties withthe largest representation with four each. Other Maryland countiesrepresented were: Montgomery, Harford, and Howard counties with

two respondents each, and Baltimore, Prince Georges, Cecil, andCalvert with one respondent each. Two other states were representedin this survey, Virginia, with two respondents, and New Jersey with onerespondent. Zip codes were also asked from the respondents; all butfour listed their zip code (was left blank or illegible). Of the eighteenrespondents that chose to give their zip codes, all were unique, with notwo respondents identifying that they lived in the same zip code.

Recreation Activity

Of the recreation activities listed on the survey (see Form A) thetop three actives in which respondents stated they participated in atleast once during the past year were: Jogging or Running (73%),Attending outdoor sporting events (72%), and three activities with 64%participation; Swimming, both beach and outdoor (listed as twoseparate activities) and Field Sports. The average number participantsof all activities were 6.9 persons participating per activity with amedian of six persons participating per activity.

Of the recreation activities listed on the survey (see Form B) thethree activities with the highest rates of participation (based on the

amount of times participated in the past year divided by the amount ofpersons surveyed who participated in the activity) were: Walking forPleasure (57.45), jogging or running (32.06), and driving for pleasure(24.29). The average participation rate for all activities in the survey is16.45 per activity with a median of 10.09 per activity.

Five respondents also included activities that were not listed inthe survey, with all being participated in by one person. Those

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activities are Swinging (participation rate of 90), Badminton (20), RockClimbing (2), Drag Racing (100), and Crabbing (20).

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Facility Demand

Respondents were giving a list of facilities (see Form C) andasked of those listed to choose three in which they would like to seemore of in Maryland, space was left to list facilities not included on thesurvey. Of the facilities listed on the survey the three with the highestdemand for increased amount among the respondents were: LightedFacilities for Night Use with nine selections (13.85%), Basketball Courtswith seven selections (10.77%), and Swimming Pools with sevenselections (10.77%). None of the listed facilities received zeroselections, and two facilities were written in with one selection each:Soccer Fields and Archery Facilities. The average number of selectionsper all facilities was 3.25 with a median of 2.

Facility Funding

Respondents were given a list of financing methods (see Form D)and asked to choose one of the four methods that they preferred. Ofthe four methods, financing by both taxes and user fees depending onthe facility was the most popular with 64% (14) of respondentschoosing it. Of the remaining three selections undecided was thesecond most popular with 18% (4) followed by financing by user feesand financing by taxes with 9% (2) each

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Data Interpretation

Recreation Activity

Of the top three activities participated in SCORP only Picnicking,with the largest percentage of persons participating in on the SCORP,showed a significant drop of when compared to the survey results,58.6% to 22.73%. On the other hand attending outdoor sporting eventshad an increase of nearly 28% when compared to the SCORP.Sightseeing had a decrease of just less than 1%. Overall more then halfof the activities listed in the SCORP had an increase in the amount ofpersons participating when compared to the survey results, with

Jogging/Running showing the greatest percentage increase, 66.13%more. Boating Sail had the largest decrease in participation with a66.82% change from the SCORP when compared to the survey results.The average change was an increase of 10.19% with a median of13.86%.

While the survey results show an increase in the amount ofpeople participating in outdoor recreation activities, the participationrates tell a different story. The three activities with the highestparticipation rates in the SCORP, Jogging/Running, Walking forPleasure, and Bicycling, all showed decreases in their participation

rates with both Jogging/Running and Bicycling showing a double-digitdecrease, 44.34 and 36.6 decreases respectively. Of the thirty-threeactivities listed on both the SCORP and survey only seven showed anincreased participation rate when comparing the SCORP numbers tothe survey numbers. Of those seven only one, camping, showed adouble-digit increase in its participation rate, an increase of 15.59. Theactivity with the largest decrease in its rate of participation wasSkateboarding, showing a decrease of 50.54. On average of theactivities listed on both the SCOPR showed a decrease of 7.78 wasobserved with a median decrease of 4.70. when compared to the sameactivities on the survey.

Several things can be seen when observing this data in anoverall sense. One of the more obvious is that since the publication ofthe SCORP the amount of people participating in outdoor recreationactivities, particularly the ones that are more physically intensive, hasincreased. Which makes sense, considering the target demographic,which is usually considered to be more physically active, and thecontinued promotion of Physical Fitness for young adults. However the

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rates of participation tell a different story. Overall rates of participationhave decreased, this could be because of a variety of factors, some ofwhich could be related to the increase in the amount of peopleparticipating. While there are more people participating they might bedoing so less frequent then those surveyed for the SCORP, which could

cause a decrease in the participation rate. Or perhaps because theyare active in more activities, they are spreading out their participation;so they are not just doing one but or two activities but multipleactivities but at the same rate as if they were doing just one, whichwould lead to a decrease in the participation rate. However with asmall sample size, 22, and a targeted demographic, males under 21, itis difficult to accurately determine why there is a decrease in theparticipation rate when compared to a statewide survey such as theSCORP.

Facility Demand

A comparison of the demand for specific facilities and currentparticipate rates is difficult to ascertain. Facility demand was fairlyevenly distributed, though several did stand out. Of the three topdemanded facilities only two can be directly compared to participationsrates; basketball/basketball courts and swimming pools/swimmingpools. On the participation rate side both activities show participationrates in the 30s (33.7 & 31.6 respectively) and would be in the top halfof the survey results. It could be said that if more facilities for theseactivities were built the activity rate could rise. The top requested

facility, lighted facilities for outdoor use, presents another factor, as itcould be applied to a number of the activities and could also be appliedto the other two top requested facilities. The request for this facilityleads me to believe that a number of activities could see slightincreases in their rate of participation if they had the ability to be usedat greater variety of times during a day, just not when daylight isavailable. Of the three activities with the highest rate of participation,Jogging/Running, Bicycling, and Skateboarding, the demand for newfacilities was slight more tepid. Bicycle trails was the only of the threethat showed any considerable demand, 5, while skateboard parks onlyshowed a 2, and jogging trails only showed a one. However at least

two of these facilities could benefit if lit for night use, skateboard parksand jogging trails (if taking into consideration running tracks), it wouldbe less feasible to light a bicycle trail.

In comparing the surveyed demand and the demand in theSCORP for new and or additional facilities, with several facilitiesswitching positions (adjacent) they were realistically no changes. Thetop demanded facilities in both surveys remained relatively the same.

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A simple conclusion can be made that while a greater number ofpeople are participating in outdoor recreation activates, since thepublication of the SCORP the demand for particular facilities remainsthe same and has not been met by park planners.

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Facility Funding

As seen in both the SCORP and survey, recreation facilitiesexclusively financed by taxes would not be a popular choice. Financingby user fees exclusively showed a more favorable reaction in theSCORP then in the survey. Depending on the facility is more difficult tocompare, as this metric is not used in the SCORP, but it did showconsiderable favorability in the survey (64% approval). It couldhowever be inferred from the SCORP that a combination of a selectionbetween a user fee or a special use tax would be a favorable way offinancing recreation facilities, which could correlate to the surveyresults. Federal Funding was also a favorable choice on the SCORP aswell, but a similar metric was not asked on the survey. Based on thedata from by the SCORP and survey it could be said that respondents,

would prefer to have users finance recreation facilities but would notbe necessarily opposed to taxes used for financing, but it woulddepend on how those taxes were raised.

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Appendix

Form AOutdoor Recreation Activity Total Number of People

(Percent of SurveyedPopulation)

Archery 4 (18.18%)Attending outdoor concerts 13 (59.09%)

Attending outdoor sports events 17 (72.27%)Basketball 11 (50.00%)

Bicycling 10 (45.45%)Boating motor 9 (40.91%)

Boating sail 4 (18.18%)

Boating canoe, kayak 7 (31.82%)Camping (indicate number ofnights)

7 (31.82%)

Driving for pleasure 13 (59.09%)Field sports (football, lacrosse,soccer)

14 (63.64%)

Fishing 6 (27.27%)

Golf 8 (36.36%)Hiking 8 (36.36%)

Horseback Riding 4 (18.18%)Hunting 1 (4.55%)

Ice Skating 6 (27.27%)

Jogging or running 16 (72.73%)

Nature walks 9 (40.91%)Off-road vehicles (includingsnowmobiles)

3 (13.64%)

Picnicking 5 (22.73%)

Shooting (target, skeet) 6 (27.27%)Sightseeing 11 (50.00%)

Skateboarding 4 (18.18%)Sledding or tobogganing 3 (13.64%)

Snowskiing 7 (31.82%)Softball or Baseball 9 (40.91%)

Swimming beach 14 (63.64%)Swimming outdoor pool 14 (63.64%)

Tennis 6 (27.27%)Walking for pleasure 11 (50.00%)

Waterskiing 2 (9.09%)Other Swinging 1 (4.55%)

Other Badminton 1 (4.55%)

Other Rock Climbing 1 (4.55%)Other Drag Racing 1 (4.55%)

Other Crabbing 1 (4.55%)

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Total 269 (100%)

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Form B

Outdoor Recreation Activity Total Participation(Participation Rate)

Archery 45 (11.25)Attending outdoor concerts 28 (2.15)

Attending outdoor sports events 113 (6.65)Basketball 118 (10.73)

Boating motor 223 (22.30)Boating sail 189 (21.00)

Boating canoe, kayak 32 (8.00)Camping (indicate number ofnights)

49 (7.00)

Driving for pleasure 170 (24.29)

Field sports (football, lacrosse,soccer)

281 (21.62)

Fishing 315 (22.50)Golf 48 (8.00)

Hiking 98 (12.25)Horseback Riding 137 (17.13)

Hunting 10 (2.50)Ice Skating 30 (5.00)

Jogging or running 513 (32.06)Nature walks 191 (21.22)

Off-road vehicles (includingsnowmobiles)

11 (3.67)

Picnicking 12 (2.40)Shooting (target, skeet) 20 (3.33)

Sightseeing 111 (10.09)Skateboarding 17 (4.25)

Sledding or tobogganing 14 (4.67)Snowskiing 48 (6.86)

Softball or Baseball 125 (13.89)Swimming beach 171 (12.21)

Swimming outdoor pool 236 (16.86)Tennis 31 (5.17)

Walking for pleasure 632 (57.45)Waterskiing 2 (1.00)

Other Swinging 90 (90.00)Other Badminton 20 (20.00)

Other Rock Climbing 2 (2.00)

Other Drag Racing 100 (100.00)Other Crabbing 20 (20.00)

Total 4262 (193.73)

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Form C

Facility Number of Responses(Percent of Total

Responses)

Baseball or Softball Diamonds 1 (1.54%)

Basketball Courts 7 (10.77%)Bicycle Trails 5 (7.69%)

Boat Docks and Marina 3 (4.62%)

Campgrounds 5 (7.69%)Fishable Waters 4 (6.15%)

Golf Courses 2 (3.08%)

Horseback Trails/EquestrianCenters

2 (3.08%)

Hunting & FishingCabins/Lodges

2 (3.08%)

Ice Skating Rinks 2 (3.08%)Jogging/Running Trails/Tracks 1 (1.54%)

Lighted Facilities for Night Use 9 (13.85%)

Picnic Areas 1 (1.54%)Skateboard Parks 2 (3.08%)

Ski Slopes and Trails 4 (6.15%)

Swimming Pools 7 (10.77%)Tennis Courts 1 (1.54%)

Wildlife Management Areas 5 (7.69%)Other Soccer Fields 1 (1.54%)

Other Archery Facilities 1 (1.54%)

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Form D

Financing Method Number of Responses(Percent of Total

Responses)

Prefer Financing by Fees Paidby User

2 (9.09%)

Prefer Financing By Taxes 2 (9.09%)

Prefer Both Depending on theFacility

14 (63.64%)

Undecided 4 (18.18%)

Total 22 (100.00%)

E

Documents

2011 Outdoor Recreation Demand Study of Towson University Students