Washington Park Annual Survey

 

In cooperation with partner venues, the Washington Park Transportation Management Association (WPTMA) is conducting a series of surveys throughout the month of August that target visitors, employees, and volunteers in the park. Though these surveys are targeted at different groups, all seek to identify the “mode split” (how people travel to the Washington Park) for everyone coming to the park along with several other key indicators, including:

 

• Mode of transportation used
• Where people came from
• Number of people in the vehicle
• Parking location
• Washington Park free shuttle use
• Public transit use
• Demographic info (age, gender, race)

 

These surveys were put together with the guidance of experts at the PSU Survey Research Lab. WPTMA staff hope to use the information gathered through the surveys to better understand how the park is being accessed, how people move around within the park, who is coming to the park, and where they’re coming from. Similar surveys were conducted in August of 2014, which will allows us to capture trends in the park. This information can be used to better help us serve visitors and to develop programs that lead to better improved transportation options for everyone who works or plays in Washington Park.

 

Intercept Survey

 

The visitor intercept survey will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, August 14 and Saturday, August 15 at six locations throughout the park. These times were chosen because they represent peak weekday and weekend times during Washington Park’s peak season. It also corresponds with the timeframe for the 2014 visitor survey. This year’s surveys are similar to the 2014 surveys, with refinement and clarification of some questions.

 

One set of questions asks visitors how they accessed information about park attractions and what resources they used to plan their trip to the park. The data collected from these questions will be used as a baseline to compare with future surveys to measure the effectiveness of the new WPTMA website. Another set of questions asks visitors whether they are visitors to the Portland area and where they are staying if they are visiting. This data, combined with travel data, demographics, vehicle occupancy, and other information gathered through the survey will help staff develop a typology of park visitors. This information will be used to inform future programs and TDM strategies.

 

All survey administrators receive training from SRL staff that will include survey background and purpose, how to recruit individuals to take the survey, and how to ensure the greatest level of validity possible.

 

Volunteer and Employee Surveys

 

The employee and visitor survey period opened August 10 and will run through August 28. Surveys are available to in both paper and electronic forms and are being distributed by Washington Park employers and volunteer coordinators. These are simple commute surveys that focus on transportation mode split, park locations, and public transit usage.