Delaware

Avenue Trail DelawareAvenueTrailUsersbyZipCode

TheDelawareAvenueTrail(DAT)isaformerDelawareandHudsonrailroad
corridorconvertedtoa2milemultiusetrailandopenedin2013.Thetrail
is also sometimes referred to as the Black Bridge Trail. It connects the
communities of Waterford, Cohoes, and Green Island providing access to
the Waterford Harbor Visitor Center, Champlain Canal Bike Trail and
Peebles Island State Park. It also provides a connection to the onroad
portionsoftheMohawkHudsonBikeHikeTrail.

Volunteers collected 11 ontrail surveys and 14 online survey respondents

reported using the DAT. Of the 4 surveys mailed to adjacent residential
property owners, 3 were returned. The trail attracted users from 10
different zip codes with the highest number of users being from Cohoes,
Waterford,Troy,andAlbany.

Bothtrailcountsandsurveysreportedmoremaletrailusers.Thetrailalso
attracts more pedestrian than bicyclists. The trail user and adjacent
residentialpropertyownersurveyaresummarizedonthenextpages.

BlackBridgeontheDelawareAvenueTrailinCohoes
Trail User Survey Summary
Gender Abouthowmanytimeshaveyouusedthetrailduringthepast
Male 6 54.5% twelvemonths?
Female 5 45.5% Lessthan5days 0 0.0%
Skipped 0 0.0% 510days 0 0.0%
Age 1124days 0 0.0%
Under16 0 0.0% 2549days 0 0.0%
1624 0 0.0% 50100days 1 9.1%
2544 3 27.3% Morethan100days 10 90.9%
4564 4 36.4% Noanswer 0 0.0%
65orover 3 27.3% Aretheresectionsofthetrailthatyouavoidduetopoortrail
Skipped 1 9.1% conditionsorgeneralconcernsabouttrailmaintenance?
Howdidyougettothetrailtoday?
Yes 0 0.0%
Drove 0 0.0%
No 10 90.9%
Bicycle 2 18.2%
Noanswer 1 9.1%
Walk/Run 9 81.8% Isyourvisittothistrailpartofanovernighttripawayfrom
Other 0 0.0% home?
Skipped 0 0.0% Yes 0 0.0%
Whatactivitydidyouengageinwhileonthetrailtoday? No 9 81.8%
Walking 8 72.7% Noanswer 2 18.2%
Running/Jogging 2 18.2% Howwouldyourateyourcurrenthealthstatus
Bicycling 3 27.3% Excellent 3 27.3%
InlineSkating 0 0.0% VeryGood 3 27.3%
Other 1 9.1% Good 2 18.2%
Whatisyourprimarypurposeforusingthistrail? Fair 2 18.2%
Recreation 4 36.4% Poor 0 0.0%
Health/Exercise 10 90.9% Noanswer 1 9.1%
Commutetoschool/work 0 0.0%
Other 0 0.0%
 Onascaleof15,towhatextentdoyoufeelthefollowingitemsareproblemsontheDelawareAvenueTrail?

1 2 3 4 5
Notaproblem Noopinion Majorproblem

parkingand/oraccess

Lackofservices(restrooms,etc.)

Personalsafety(crime)

Directionalsignage

Dangerousroadintersections

Litter,glass&debris

Petsoffleashes/animalwaste

Trailwidth

Trailsurfaceconditions

Behavioroftrailusers

Conflictswithothertrailactivities

Toocrowded

0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Adjacent Residential Survey Summary
Whichofthefollowingmostaccuratelydescribeshowyouuse Whatistheapproximatecurrentvalueofyourproperty?
yourpropertyneartheTrail? Lessthan$99,999 0 0.0%
Itismyprimaryresidence 2 66.7% $100,000199,999 2 66.7%
$200,000299,999 1 33.3%
Irenttoatenant,anddo
notoccupytheresidence 0 0.0% $300,000399,999 0 0.0%
Itismysecondhome 0 0.0% $400,000$499,999 0 0.0%
Itisunoccupied 0 0.0% $500,000ormore 0 0.0%
Howwouldyoudescribethesettingofyourhousenearthe
Other 1 33.3%
trail?
Whereisthetrailinrelationtoyourpropertyline?
Urban 1 33.3%
Thetrailrunsthroughmy
property 0 0.0% Suburban 1 33.3%
thetrailrunsalongtheedge Rural 1 33.3%
ofmyproperty 1 33.3% Whendidyouacquireyourhouse?
Thetrailisnearmyproperty Afterthetrailwasbuilt 0 0.0%
butnottouchingit 2 66.7% BeforetheTrailwasbuilt 3 100.0%
Don'tknow 0 0.0%
Compareyourinitialreactiontotheideaoflivingnearthetrail
Approximatelyhowfar(infeet)istherailtrailfromyourhouse?
tohowyoufeelaboutlivingnearthetrailtoday.Wouldyousay
Lessthan100ft. 2 66.7% thatlivingnearthetrailisbetterorworsethanyouexpectedit
100ft.to199ft. 0 0.0% tobe?
200ft.to499ft. 0 0.0%
Muchbetter 0 0.0%
500ft.ormore 1 33.3%
Better 0 0.0%
Approximatelyhowlargeisyourproperty?
Same 2 66.7%
Lessthan1/2acre 1 33.3%
Worse 1 33.3%
Between1/2and1acre 1 33.3%
Muchworse 0 0.0%
Between1and3acres 1 33.3%
Doyoufeelthetrailposesarisktoyourownoryourfamily's
3acresormore 0 0.0%
safetyduetotheactivitiesoftrailusers?
Yes 0 0.0%
No 2 66.7%
Noopinion 1 33.3%
Ifyouweretotryandsellyourproperty,doyouthinkbeing
nearthetrailwillmakeitharderoreasiertosell?
Doyoufeelyourproximitytothetrailhasimprovedyour
Mucheasier 0 0.0% physicalactivitylevels?
Easier 1 33.3% Yes 1 33.3%
Same 1 33.3% No 1 33.3%
Harder 1 33.3% Notsure 1 33.3%
Muchharder 0 0.0% Doyoufeelthatthedevelopmentandmanagementoftrailisa
Howdoyouthinkbeinglocatednearthetrailhasaffectedthe gooduseofpublicfunds?
resalevalueofthisproperty? Yes 2 66.7%
Loweredtheresalevalue 0 0.0% No 0 0.0%
Increasedtheresalevalue 1 33.3% Noopinion 1 33.3%
Noeffectontheresale Howoftendothemembersofyourhouseholdusethetrail?
value 1 33.3%
Daily 0 0.0%
Noopinion 1 33.3%
Frequently 1 33.3%
Overall,howsatisfiedareyouwithhavingthetrailasa Occasionally 0 0.0%
neighbor?
Rarely 0 0.0%
Verysatisfied 1 33.3% Never 1 33.3%
Satisfied 1 33.3% Noanswer 1 33.3%
Indifferent 0 0.0%
Unsatisfied 1 33.3%
Veryunsatisfied 0 0.0%
Howdoyoufeelthetrailhasaffectedthequalityofyour
neighborhood?
Highlyimproved 1 33.3%
Improved 1 33.3%
Noimpact 1 33.3%
Worsened 0 0.0%
Completelydeteriorated 0 0.0%
 Towhatextentdoyoufeelthefollowingitemsareproblemsforyourhouseholdasaresultofthetrailanditsusers?

1(Notaproblem) 2 3(Noopinion) 4 5(Majorproblem)

Disruptivenoisefromthetrail
Burglaryofmyproperty
Discourteous,rudeusers
Unleashedandroamingpets
Petwasteon/nearmyproperty
Carsparkingon/nearmyproperty
Vandalismofmyproperty
Usersharassmypets
Trespassingontomyproperty
Loiteringon/nearmyproperty
Litteron/nearmyproperty
Illegalmotorvehicleuse

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Towhatextentdoyoufeelthatthetrailisimportantinprovidingthefollowingbenefitstothesurroundingcommunity?

1(Notimportant 2 3(Noopinion) 4 5(Veryimportant)

Locaionforspecialevents

Transportationalternatives

Environmentaleducationopportunities

Openspaceconservation

Waterfrontaccess/revitalization

Toursim&relatedeconomicbenefits

Safeopportunitisforhealthandfitness

Safeopportunitiesforpublicrecreation

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5