2014 Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey Report

8/12/2019 2014 Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey Report

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Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey 2014

Summary Results

April 2014


2/16

Public Participation and Outreach

From October 2013 through March 2014 staff from MassBike and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission held ten public meetings

on the development of the Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. Each meeting consisted of a discussion with residents about

existing conditions and recommendations for improving biking and walking in Springfield, a mapping exercise to identify problemlocations, and the completion by attendees of the Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey 2014. Additionally, staff from MassBike

and Partners for Healthier Communities attended seven community events to survey residents.

The following provides the dates and locations of each event.

Public Meetings

11/1/2013 Pioneer Valley Rowing Club

11/13/2013 Dunbar YMCA

11/14/2013 Dunbar YMCA

11/20/2013 Gerena Elementary School

12/6/2013 Vietnamese American Civic Association - Senior Citizens Meeting

12/5/2013 Vietnamese American Civic Association - Youth Meeting

12/12/2013 Mason Square Health Task Force

1/16/2014 Armory Quadrangle Civic Association

2/4/2014 Bay Area Neighborhood Council

3/11/2014 New North Citizens Council

Survey Tabling1/30/2014 Basketball Clinic - Dunbar YMCA

2/11/2014 Forest Park Library

2/20/2014 Springfield College Fit Fest

2/20/2014 YMCA- Chestnut Street

2/25/2014 Edgewater Brown Bag

2/28/2014 Boys and Girls Club

3/3/2014 Caring Health WIC Office - Main Street

Springfield Walking and Biking Survey 2014 - Summary Results Page 1


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Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey 2014

From October 2013 through March 2014 the Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey 2014 was provided to the public in a paper

version (in both Spanish and English) at public meetings and tabling events or as a web-based survey. In total, there were 603

responses over the six month period.

The following summary is organized by question topic and follows the question sequence of the survey.

What city or town do you live in?

Organized by county

3%

89%

@ 4% out of state or

out of country4%

Approximate location of Springfield

Springfield Walking and Biking Survey 2014 - Summary ResultsPage 2


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Springfield

89%

Chicopee

2%

West

Springfield3%

Longmeadow

2%

Wilbraham

1%Agawam

1% Holyoke

1%

Ludlow

1%

Responses within Hampden County

Hampden

89%

Hampshire

3%

Out of state

3%

Franklin

3%

Worcester

1%Suffolk

1%

Responses by County or Out of StateResponse rate = 99%

What city or town do you live in? (Continued)

Organized by county



5/16

School, 40%

Work, 49%

Recreation,

23%

If you don't live in Springfield, what brings you here?Response rate = 21%

Yes, 37%

No, 63%

Have you heard of Live Well Springfield?Response rate = 65%



6/16

Male,

47%Female,

52%

Other, 0%

GenderResponse rate = 81%

21%

26%

29%

19%

6%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

under 15 16-25 26-45 46-65 66 and over

AgeResponse rate = 86%

17%14%

2%

25%

3%

22%20%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Highest Level of EducationResponse rate = 76%

6

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Native American

Human

Jamaican

Alaskan Native

Arab

Black, Puerto Rican,

Canadian

Caramel

Cuban, Indian

Irish American

Italian

Panamanian

West Indian

"Other" Responses for Race

32%

41%

28%

6%4%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Race/Ethnicity (Check All That Apply)Response rate = 79%



7/16

25%

38%

21%

18%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

0-10 minutes 10-30 minutes 30-60 minutes 60 minutes ormore

How much do you walk every day?Response rate = 97%

Did you know

The Centers for Disease Control

recommends 150 minutes of brisk

walking every week!

Thats only 20 minutes a day, seven

days a week!

Source: CDC

http://tinyurl.com/7ljl5v

74%

27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Yes No

Would you like to walk more often?Response rate = 91%

Springfield Walking and Biking Survey 2014 - Summary Results Page 7
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8/16

67%

42%

14%

33%

9%

44%

19%

57%

21%16%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Which of the following neighborhood services are within

walking distance of your home?Response rate = 96%



9/16

11%

51%46%

44%

51%48%

23%

29%

23%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

What features are important for making a neighborhood

great for walking?Response rate = 98%

71%

29%

76%

24%

Yes for walking

Not for walking

Yes for biking

Not for biking

Do you consider your neighborhood good for

walking/biking?Response rate = 82%


Great News!

The majority of Springfield

residents rate their

neighborhood good for both

walking and biking!

The top three most importantfeatures that make for a great

neighborhood for walking are

clean streets, lighting, and

sidewalks that are in good

condition.
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10/16

41%

28%

21%

4%

9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Strong and

fearless

Enthusiastic and

confident

Interested but

concerned

Not sure Not interested in

riding a bicycle

How confident are you on a bicycle?Response rate = 93%

Yes, 76%

No, 24%

Would you like to bicycle more often?Response rate = 90%

Did you know

National data show that bicyclists

riding in areas without bike paths or

bike lanes are much more likely to

feel unsafe compared to bicyclists

riding on paths or lanes.

Also, nearly one-third of the

population (32%) is dissatisfied with

their community designs for making

biking safe.

Imagine that!

Source: How Bike Paths and Lanes

Make a Difference, BTS

Generally, behavioral changes (mode shift) happens within these

groups of folks!

Creating safe opportunities for biking through the addition of bikelanes, separated bike lanes, wayfinding signage, and bike parking

can all help to encourage and support increasing levels of

bicycling.

For more on this topic see: Four Types of Transportation Cyclists in

Portland

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16%

33%

15%

15%

30%

36%

36%

14%

7%

I am physically limited from riding a bicycle

Road surfaces are poorly maintained

Not enough bicycle parking

Destination is too far from my home

Poor weather

I don't feel safe riding a bicycle in traffic

Bicycle lanes are too few, and not interconnected

It takes me too long to bike where I want to go

My destination does not have shower/locker

facilities

What keeps you from bicycling more often?Response rate = 75%

Good News!

We cant change the weather, but

the Springfield Pedestrian and

Bicycle plan will call for bike lanes,

bike parking and improving

roadway maintenance throughout

the city!

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12/16

Forest Hills

Park

16%

State St

12%

Wilbraham

Rd

12%

Plumetree Rd

11%

Main St

10%

There are no

good roads

9%

Boston Rd9%

Allen St

8%

Carew St

7%

Alden St

6%

Top 10 Best Roads for Bicycling in

SpringfieldResponse rate = 45%

Best & Worst Streets Overlap

Worst Best

State St 24% State St 12%

Main St 19% Main St 10%

Boston Rd 14% Boston Rd 9%

Carew St 4% Carew St 7%

Wilbraham Rd 4% Wilbraham Rd 12%State St

24%

Main St

19%

Boston Rd

14%

Sumner Ave

12%

Bay St

10%

Parker St

5%

Chestnut St

4%

Belmont Ave

4%

Carew St

4%

Wilbraham Rd4%

Top 20 Worst Roads for Bicycling in SpringfieldResponse rate = 61%



13/16

63%

45%

29%

27%

16%

15%

11%

10%

10%

8%

8%

6%

6%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

Main St

State St

Boston Rd

Carew St

Bay St

Sumner Ave

Roosevelt Ave

Chestnut St

St James Ave

Parker St

Wilbraham Ave

Page Blvd

Plainfield St

Alden St

Allen St

Dickinson St

Dwight St

Jefferson St

Liberty St

Worthington St

Top 20 Springfield Streets to Install Bike ParkingResponse rate = 91%

Springfield Walking and Biking Survey 2014 - Summary Results

23%

14%

13%

10%

9%

8%

8%

6%

6%

5%

Forest Park

Eastfield Mall

SpringfieldCollege

Walmart

Van Horn Park

The X

Union Station

Connecticut

River

Stop and Shop

Friendly's

Top 10 Springfield Locations to Install Bike

ParkingResponse rate = 91%

Page 13


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Springfield Walking and Biking Survey 2014 - Summary Results

16

12

11

7

6

5

4

3

3

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Schools

Parks

Grocery stores

Shopping Areas

Libraries

Museums

Health clubs

Churches

Post offices

Playgrounds

Banks

Barber shops

College campuses

Community centers

Corner stores

Hospitals

Pools

Springfield General Locations to Install Bike

ParkingTotal # of responses = 76

23

5

4

3

2

1

1

1

1

1

Downtown

Indian Orchard

North End

South End

Pine Point

Hungry Hill

McKnight

Quadrangle

Six Corners

Sixteen Acres

Springfield Neighborhoods to

Install Bike ParkingTotal # of responses = 42

# of Responses

# of Responses

Page 14


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Questions or comments?

Please contact:

Catherine Ratt

Principal Planner/Manager

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission

Phone: 413/781-6045 Email: [email protected]

Jimmy Pereira

Springfield Healthy Design Coordinator

Program Associate

Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition

Phone: 413.784.4822 | Email: [email protected]

Documents

2014 Springfield Bicycling and Walking Survey Report