The Association of Trail Features With Self-Report Trail Use by Neighborhood Residents

Abstract

Background: Urban trails are a useful resource to promote physical activity. This study identified features of urban trails that correlated with trail use. Methods: Multiuse urban trails were selected in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. An audit of each trail was completed using the Systematic Pedestrian and Cyclist Environmental Scan for Trails instrument, identifying built environmental features. A self-report of trail use was obtained from trailside residents (N = 331) living within 1 mile of each trail. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regressions controlled for trail time from home and motivation for physical activity. Results: Positive associations with the past month’s hours on the trail were observed for the presence of distance signs, vegetation height, vegetation maintenance, and trail crowding, and a negative association was observed for the presence of crossings on the trail. Positive associations with dichotomous trail use were observed for the presence of distance signs, vegetation height, and vegetation maintenance, and a negative association was observed for the presence of crossings on the trail. Conclusions: These correlates should be confirmed in other studies and, if supported, should be considered in the promotion and design of urban trails.

Environmental Physical Activity Cues and Children’s Active vs. Sedentary Recreation

“…The subtle environmental manipulation tested here (i.e., posters showing people being physically active) did not increase short-term PA behavior among children, even though similar small-scale signage manipulations have been found to be effective in adults [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Future research could test whether images of active individuals more similar to the target individuals (e.g., similar age, similar activities) or images showing more readily accessible PA options (e.g., children playing with the available active toys) might be more effective in increasing PA in the short-and longer-term.…”

“…A possible way to utilize the environment to prompt children to be more active that requires even less monetary and time investment than those methods presented earlier is through signage. Signage aimed at increasing PA has not been investigated in children, although there is robust research supporting its use in adults [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. For instance, in adults, signage encouraging PA is associated with elevated MVPA within a park [32].…”

“…This literature makes it clear that the environment is an influential predictor of PA in children, but the robust influence of signage has only been investigated in adults [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43], not children. In order to address the >50% of school age children [2] that do not meet PA guidelines, research must investigate questions such as whether signage can also promote PA among children.…”

“…Based on previous research demonstrating how even very subtle environmental cues can prompt behavior change [27,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]46,48,49,[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59], we hypothesized that children exposed to the active posters spend a greater proportion of their playtime engaged with active toys (relative to sedentary toys) than children exposed to the nature posters. As in previous research demonstrating downward trajectories in PA as children age [2,18,60-65], and greater PA among boys than among girls [14,15,17,18,24,26], we also tested whether younger children and boys would spend a greater proportion of their playtime with active toys, compared with older children and girls, respectively.…”