Technical Assistance Project for Schenectady Co. 2018 Capital District Regional Planning Commission 1 Park Place Suite 102 Albany, New York 12205 2 INTRODUCTION This report was prepared for Schenectady County by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. Funding for this report was provided by the Capital District Transportation Committee as part of the Local Government Technical Assistance Program. This report focuses on helping the county manage two county-owned preserves, the Plotterkill Preserve and the Indian Kill Preserve. There are three components to the report: 1) Digital map files and directions on how to set up a GPS-based hiking navigation app for the public to utilize. 2) a trail survey and the results of the trail survey. 3) a trail count analysis. Plotterkill Preserve This Preserve contains nearly 645 acres of rugged hardwood and coniferous forest along the Plotter Kill, a scenic tributary to the Mohawk River. The gorge of the Plotter Kill was cut by melt waters at the close of the ice ages about 10,000 years ago. The ledges give the stream its name: platte (flat) and kill (creek). The Plotter Kill drops 900 feet in its 3.5-mile descent from Rynex Corners to the Mohawk River. There are three spectacular waterfalls: The Upper Falls, Lower Falls and the Rynex Creek Falls. All are magnificent sights in spring high water and in winter ice. The Upper Falls is 60 feet high, and the others 40 feet. The Plotter Kill Preserve is wonderful for nature study. Over 600 species of plants have been found in the area including: trilliums, violets, lilies, ferns and club mosses. Indiankill Preserve The 100-acre Indian Kill Preserve follows the banks and bluffs of the Indian Kill. The Preserve is comprised of diverse habitats including, native hardwood forest, conifer plantations, and wetlands. The Preserve is an attractive area for hiking, nature study, fishing, cross-country skiing, and snow-shoeing. 3 The Preserve is also a special place for wildflowers in the spring, and a variety of fern species. Hepatica, trout lilies, trillium, cohosh, toothwort, and jack-in-the-pulpits bloom along the stream banks. Eleven species of ferns grow along the trails, emphasizing the diverse habitats of the area, moist stream banks, wetlands, cool north-facing bluffs and the dry sandy uplands. Navigating the Preserves Using “MapMyHike” Digital map data for both preserves was acquired using the Runtastic app. Through this app trail coordinates were captured by hiking the trails of the preserves. The map data can be loaded into the MapMyHike app, which can be used as a GPS-based navigation tool on mobile devises. By using the MapMyHike app, a trail user that has gotten lost or gone off-trail has the ability to find their way back. This may reduce the number of people needing emergency rescue. Directions for Creating Routes on MapMyHike 1. Log into/Make an account on MapMyHike.com. 2. Hover courser over ‘Routes’ link on the top of the page. 3. Click on the second option ‘Create Route’. 4. On the left-hand side of the ‘Create Route’ page, there will be a link underneath the ‘Choose My Map Location’ that says ‘Import’. Click on ‘Import’. 5. Next, a dialog box will pop up, giving the option to ‘Choose File’. The trail files have been provided by to the county by CDRPC separately along with this report. Navigate to the folder where the provided files have been stored. 6. When a file is uploaded, the box next to ‘Continue’ will automatically change to match the file type uploaded. .TCX files are the most accurate when imported into MapMyHike; try to avoid using .GPX. Click on ‘Continue’ when all fields are correct. 4 7. After clicking on ‘Continue’, the file type selection and ‘Continue’ button will disappear and show ‘Importing’ with a waiting icon. 8. Once it finishes importing the file, the dialog box will give you the option to change the activity type and to name the activity. Click ‘Save’. 9. Next to pop up will be a page where specifics about the route can be changed. There really isn’t a need to change anything here, so click ‘Save’ at the bottom of the page. 10. Route is now available! How to Allow Users to Access it Once the route has been added to your MapMyHike account, it will need to be made public. The default setting when creating routes on MapMyHike is ‘friends’ so you will need to edit the route and change it to public. 1. Hover courser over ‘Routes’ link at the top of the page. 2. Click on the fifth option ‘My Routes & Courses’. 3. The website will load a page that contains the routes you have created. 4. Click on the ‘Edit’ link of the route you wish to make public below the ‘Options’ column. 5. On the far left, middle of the page, there is a drop-down menu. This will likely say ‘Friends’. 6. Click on the drop down and choose ‘Public’. No other settings need to be changed. 7. Next, click the orange button ‘Save Route’. 8. The route will now be public to users! 5 How to Share Route for Users to Use There are a couple different ways users can access the routes you have created. MapMyHike has automatic links to various social media on their website. If you load the route you’ve created, you will see: You can use these links to share it in a quick and easy manner. As for your own website and other social media not shown, the webpage link in the search bar at the top of the page will have to be copy and pasted. 1. When creating a page or section on your website for the routes, a disclaimer about the trails should be include. Note that the route is simply a guide to get users back on track if they are lead astray by off-course goat paths. 2. If someone is present at the preserve, MapMyRun will show the route under the ‘Nearby’ category when the ‘Load Route’ button is selected in the app. (See next page for screenshot of ‘Load Route’) 3. If they are not near the preserve, it is best for them to view the route on the desktop version of the MapMyHike website and chose either ‘Bookmark’ or ‘Send To Phone’ on the route page to be able to access the route from their phone. 6 7 4. Bookmarked routes will become available to load on the app under the ‘Bookmarked’ category when the ‘Load Route’ button is selected in the app. 5. The ‘Send to Phone’ option will send a link to their email that will automatically load the map in the app when they click on it. (They must have the app downloaded for this to work, of course) A disclaimer should be included with the use of the app map. Make it clear that it is merely a guide to help users stay and get back on the trail and that due to various environmental factors and personal abilities, some areas may need to be treaded cautiously. The routes were mapped by a physically fit young adult, so completion time and pace should not be taken as law. It’s also recommended that the county place signs at the entrances of the trails that advertises the MapMyHike route(s). Make it known to users that they can download the app and load the route. Explain that the route will help them stay on track and help them find their way again if they get lost. Observations and Recommendations Based on CDRPC’s experience hiking the trails to capture the map data, we offer the following observations and recommendations regarding trail operations and parking. 8 Trail Operations ─ The addition of more trail markers would be of benefit to reducing the number of emergency rescues needed. In areas where there are well-established off course trails, have signs warning of this. One ‘Trail End’ sign posted at the end of an off-course trail was seen while hiking in Plotterkill Preserve, however more could be used. ─ The steep downward trail near the middle of the Plotterkill Preserve is slippery even on a hot, dry day. The incorporation of steps, like the ones that are seen elsewhere in the preserve, or the installation of posts to hold on to, will make it easier for users to safely make it down (or up) this section of the trails. Parking ─ The expansion of the Mariaville Rd entrance will provide a lot more parking for users. As of the counts preformed, Mariaville can hold about 35 cars, Coplan can hold about 9, and Lower Gregg about 5. However, when stall lines are missing, people tend to park great distances between each other and lose potential spaces. If maximum parking wants to be achieved, the addition of stall skirts or parking stops at the front of each space is needed. As a suggestion, if parking stops are implemented, paint them colorfully so that users are more likely to obey the spaces. 9 Trail User Survey Report for Plotterkill Trail User Survey Response Counts Completion Rate: 100% Complete 26 Totals: 26 1. On average, how often do you visit the Plotterkill Preserve? 8% First Visit 4% Daily 27% Monthly 62% Annually Value Percent Responses Daily 3.8% 1 Monthly 26.9% 7 Annually 61.5% 16 First Visit 7.7% 2 Totals: 26 2. Top reason(s) for visiting the Plotterkill: 100 80 60 t n e c r e P 40 20 0 Hiking/Trail Sight- Birding/Photography/Wildlife Geocashing Other - Write In Running/Exercise seeing/enjoying viewing (Required) views Value Percent Responses Hiking/Trail Running/Exercise 84.6% 22 Sight-seeing/enjoying views 61.5% 16 Birding/Photography/Wildlife viewing 19.2% 5 Geocashing 7.7% 2 Other - Write In (Required) 3.8% 1 3.