Tennessee River Walk Data Collection
The Tennessee River Walk is a continuous 10-mile paved trail from the downtown riverfront area to the Tennessee Riverpark and Chickamauga Dam. Included in the River Walk is the Walnut Street Bridge, a pedestrian bridge connecting the downtown riverfront to the North Shore area. Both the downtown and North Shore feature shops and restaurants, with the River Walk providing access to these and other points of interest along the trail.
To quantify the number of River Walk users and identify common characteristics and uses of the River Walk, the idea was presented to have university students participate in data collection. This service learning project began in September 2008 as a University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) Health and Human Performance class project. Since then, a relationship has been forged with UTC's English Department. Through this joint effort, over 130 students have acted as student researchers, providing over 600 man-hours of data collection service.
Classes participating to date include: HHP 456: Research Methods, HHP 299: Research Methods and ENGL 278: Scientific Writing
The purpose of this project is to:
To quantify the number of River Walk users and identify common characteristics and uses of the River Walk, the idea was presented to have university students participate in data collection. This service learning project began in September 2008 as a University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC) Health and Human Performance class project. Since then, a relationship has been forged with UTC's English Department. Through this joint effort, over 130 students have acted as student researchers, providing over 600 man-hours of data collection service.
Classes participating to date include: HHP 456: Research Methods, HHP 299: Research Methods and ENGL 278: Scientific Writing
The purpose of this project is to:
- Capture demographic and activity usage data.
- Identify attitudes, trends and beliefs of users.
- Engage UTC students in a project to benefit the community.
- Provide policy makers with evidence-based data to assist in shaping policy.
- Students are placed in designated spots on the Riverpark trail system. The researchers observe users and collect survey data. The data is subsequently entered into a database and analyzed by graduate students and ALTN staff. The result has been the identification of interesting trends. Findings have been used to benchmark activity and demographics in anticipation of continued development and expansion of our greenway network.
- In many academic disciplines, it is appropriate and valuable to incorporate experiential learning. ALTN is currently working with students and faculty from several classes to conduct research.
- Multiple audiences have requested information regarding the data and the process in obtaining the data. This includes the Hamilton County Commission, the Chattanooga City Council, the Tennessee American Planning Association and the Greenway Task Force. In addition, the information collected is of interest to national audiences.
ALTN Project Links
- Mobile Bicycle Fleet
- Bike Share Project
- Emerging Leaders Program
- Safe Routes to School
- Bicycle Safety Workshops for Seniors
- Pro Walk / Pro Bike 2010
- Community Presentations
Contact
For more information on ALTN projects or to request a presentation or schedule the mobile bicycle fleet for your worksite or group:
- E-mail: info@activelivingtn.org
- Phone: (423) 643-6887
- Mailing: 200 River St. Chattanooga, TN 37405