Queenstown Trail Visitation Executive Summary for Period - October 18, 2012 to January 31, 2015 trail movements for the period 1,569,597 352,718 trail journeys since opening Sunday is the busiest day of the week & Wednesday January 7, 2015 was the busiest day in our history to date (17,630). On average 77 clicks per hour and clicks per day Prepared by Mandy Kennedy February 2015
Introduction The Queenstown Trail is a 110km walking and cycling trail connecting the communities of Queenstown, Arrowtown, Gibbston and Jack s Point. The trail was officially opened on October 18, 2012 - this report provides is an indication on the total number of clicks recorded as a trail user passes one of the 11 counting sites. Research to travel patterns has been collected via limited survey data on travel patterns which indicate a rider passes an average of 4.45 counter stations. Assuming this is the case, there were some 352,718 unique trail journeys completed since the opening of the Queenstown Trail. Methodology 11 Eco-Counters (note nine counters were originally installed) are located at key entrance points and structures along the trail network. The counters consist of a heat sensitive sensor and data logger. Each sensor is hidden within a timber post or similar at a point of constriction to count people as they pass on foot or bike. For each count the time and day is recorded. With the original counters, the data was wirelessly uploaded in the field to a laptop and then uploaded to a cloud based application that analyses the data and provides reports. The new counters (two in total, with a further counter on order for 2015) distinguish between walkers and cyclists and the software now offers an auto-upload into Eco Counter software which enables us to read the data at any time we wish, which is presently on a quarterly basis. With the advent of the new software the counters are considered to be accurate and are able to be monitored online. Any apparent false data can be moderated by the software application. Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 1
Results A total of 1,569,597 trail users or 352,718 trail journeys of the Queenstown Trail were recorded between the opening of the Trail on October 18, 2012 and January 31, 2015. The peak usage day was Wednesday January 7, 2015 17,630 clicks. The Queenstown Marathon was held on parts of the Trail on November 22 involving some 5,000 competitors. Generally, the busiest days on the Trail occur over the weekend Sunday predominantly - excepting for the Track, Old School Rd and Speargrass Flat Rd showing clearly that is offers a level of local commuting use beyond recreational riding and walking, this is evidenced by the peak day being Tuesday and Monday in contrast to weekend days for the majority of the sites. Snapshot The busiest day of the week is Sunday with the top three busiest periods being:- #1 Wednesday 7 Jan (17,200) #2 Tue 26 Nov 2013 (4,759) #3 Wed 2 Apr 2014 (2,299) Summary of Counts October 18, 2012 January 31, 2015 Clicks Journeys Peak Day Minimum Day Max Day of the Week Hourly Daily Monthly Billies_Bridge Edgar_Bridge Track Kawarau Falls Bridge Kelvin Peninsula New River Track Old School Road Riverside Road Riverside Road New Speargrass_Flat_Rd 33739 98170 724071 82113 154799 223322 131336 60415 71641 50103 Swain Bridge 7582 22060 162712 18452 34786 50184 29513 13576 16099 11259 19262 Sun 6 Jan 2013 (661) Fri 28 Jun 2013 (0) Sun 28 Oct 2012 (995) Wed 2 Jul 2014 (0) Wed 7 Jan 2015 (17,200) Wed 3 Oct 2012 (0) Tue 31 Dec 2013 (844) Wed 4 Sep 2013 (68) Tue 31 Dec 2013 (529) Thu 29 May 2014 (7) Thu 9 Jan 2014 (1,443) Sun 2 Jun 2013 (34) Wed 2 Apr 2014 (2,299) Fri 6 Dec 2013 (0) Thu 29 May 2014 (1,931) Wed 17 Oct 2012 (0) Thu 29 May 2014 (1,931) Wed 17 Oct 2012 (0) Tue 26 Nov 2013 (4,759) Wed 4 Sep 2013 (1) Sunday Sunday Tuesday Sunday Sunday Saturday Monday Saturday Saturday Tuesday 3 6 36 14 7 10 6 4 4 3 62 138 851 346 173 247 145 91 95 73 1874 3927 25860 9124 5259 7526 4096 2746 2875 2137 85717 Thu 3 Jan 2013 (533) Thu 20 Jun 2013 (3) Sunday 5 120 3507 Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 2
Trails with Cyclist vs Walking Sensor Stats Clicks Journeys Max Day of the Week Hourly Daily Monthly Track Peds into Town 724071) Track Peds out of Town 724071) Track Bike into Town 724071) Track Bike out of Town 724071) Kelvin Pen. Peds Track (Grand 154799) Kelvin Pen. Peds Kelvin H. Kelvin Pen. Cyclists Track Kelvin Pen. Cyclists Kelvin H. 579115 63245 40999 40672 121568 9103 12123 12005 130138 14212 9213 9139 27318 2045 2724 2697 Tuesday Thursday Thursday Thursday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday 28 3 2 2 6 0 1 1 681 74 48 48 143 11 14 14 20684 2259 1464 1453 4342 325 433 429 Clicks Journeys Max Day of the Week Hourly Daily Monthly River Track Peds 223322) River Track Peds Toward Countryside Ride (Grand 223322) River Track Cyclists 223322) River Track Cyclists Toward Countryside Ride(Grand 223322) New Peds to Track (Grand 71641) New Peds to Lower 71641) New Cyclists to Track 71641) New Cyclists to Lower 71641) 186284 20139 8164 8735 65259 4867 733 782 41861 4525 1834 1962 14664 1093 164 175 Saturday Saturday Sunday Sunday Saturday Sunday Thursday Thursday 9 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 218 24 0 10 77 6 1 1 6653 719 292 312 2331 174 26 28 Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 3
Notes The Kawarau River Trail was closed due to flood damage after a very heavy rain event on June 2, 2013. While part of the trail was utilised by walkers, numbers are significantly lower. The Kawarau River Trail experienced damage due to severe weather in July and August 2014, part of the Twin Rivers Trails (Old McDonalds Hill) was closed and another part down to one-lane. The Trail has since been repaired and is fully operations; this temporary trail closure will impact on the traffic counts. Further heavy rain in early February 2015 has resulted in closure of the trail from Glenda Drive to the Oxidation Ponds, again this will impact of future trail counts. Data count failures on Billies Bridge (April 2014), Edgar Bridge, Swain Bridge and Kawarau Falls Bridge (November 2014) are being investigated and remedied. We are looking to source an additional counter (or move an existing counter) to monitor the traffic on the new Kelvin Peninsula Loop. The Gibbston River Trail (upgrade) saw an official trail opening in November 2014. Counter technology is being sourced for this trail. Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 4
Proportion of Trail use by Counter October 1, 2012 January 31, 2015 Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 5
Queenstown Trail Movements YoY October 01, 2012 January 31, 2015 Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 6
Queenstown Trail Movements YoY October 01, 2012 January 31, 2015 Queenstown Trail Users as at January 31, 2015 Page 7