Research update

            The research I have been assigned for this project has to do with convincing people that our proposed trails are a good thing. In the last progress update, I told everyone about the research I found on the benefits of trails. Building from that, getting people motivated about biking and hiking is easier once their desires are understood. As a result, the research I have been conducting for this week entails the wants of the people.

            I created the following survey to examine people’s wants of trails, which I plan to give out in the next few days;

1.)   What is your gender?

2.)   How old are you?

3.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being seldom and 5 being very often, how frequently would you use trails to commute from place to place, given it was a reasonable distance?

4.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being no affect and 5 being strongly affects, how would the accessibility of public restrooms affect your likelihood of using trails?

5.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being very concerned and 5 being not concerned, how concerned would you be about the closeness between the side of the road and the trail path?

6.)   How much do you enjoy walking or biking outside, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning you find it dreadful and 5 meaning you find it very joyful?

7.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being seldom and 5 being often, how often would you use trails by yourself, relative to how often you use trails now?

8.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being far away and 5 being very close, close to businesses, such as gas station and fast food restaurants, would you like the trail to be?

9.)   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being strongly against and 5 being strongly for, how much would you like to see mile markers?

10.)                   On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being unlikely and 5 being very likely, how likely would you use trails if it meant they were publicly maintained ? For example things like trash and litter would stay on the trails unless the people using them took care of it.

11.)                   If it cost the same to create trails out of any type of material, which of the following materials would you like the trails to be made out of: cement, rubber, dirt, gravel, or grass?

12.)                   Would you rather bike, walk, or run on trails?

These questions are designed to observe the desires of people based on their age group and gender. After I have conducted the study I will be able to appeal to all types of people and list benefits accordingly. This will make advertising the project to be more successful.

      In addition to finding the people’s interests, I’m assigned the task of finding out who we should contact about making the trails a possibility. The first step would be proposing our information to the mayor. The mayor of Six Mile, Roy Stoddard, can be contacted by email at roy_stoddard@sixmilesc.org. Also, we would need to arrange a meeting with the council, which could be done by calling 864-868-2653. The council also meets on the first Tuesday of every month, so we could propose our ideas at that time. This information was obtained from the following website: http://thetownofsixmile.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/hello-world/.

      In addition to communicating with the government of Six Mile, we would need to talk to the government of Clemson. To do that we would first need to arrange a meeting by contacting Mr. J. C Cook III at Mayor@cityofclemson.org or  (864) 653-2030. This information was found from http://www.cityofclemson.org/city/city-council. Overall in order to make the trails a reality, we would have to finalize all our information, including the funding, costs, benefit, people’s opinions, and our ideas about where the trails could be constructed. Then we could present it to the two city councils to discuss the possible growth and development of trail transportation.

-Alex Whitman