( Erie to Pittsburgh Trail (Between Titusville and Parker, Pa.) 2013 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis Contents Executive Summary ............................................... 2 Historical Perspective ............................................. 4 Location Analysis .................................................. 6 Map of the Trails ................................................... 7 Regional Demographics ........................................ 9 Special thanks to Debra Frawley, greenways coordinator for Venango, Clarion and Crawford 2013 Survey Results ............................................ 10 Counties, for assisting with the data collection and Methodology and Analysis .................................. 15 research outlined in this report. Comparative Analysis .......................................... 16 This report was financed in part by a grant from the Trail User Estimate ............................................... 20 Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the Economic Impact ................................................ 21 administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Trail Maintenance, Security and Cleanliness ......... 24 Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. Qualitative Values of the Trails ............................. 25 Appendix – Trail Counter Data ............................. 26 Very special thanks to the late Jim Holden, president of the Council on Greenways and Trails (a coalition of 14 municipalities and nonprofit groups) and founding president of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance. Erie to Pittsburgh Trail (Between Titusville and Parker, Pa.) 2013 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis Patricia Tomes, Program Manager Carl Knoch, Manager of Trail Development Northeast Regional Office Rails-to-Trails Conservancy January 2014 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Northeast Regional Office 2133 Market Street, Suite 222 Camp Hill, PA 17011 tel 717.238.1717 / fax 717.238.7566 National Headquarters 2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor Washington, DC 20037 tel 202.331.9696 / fax 202.223.9257 railstotrails.org TrailLink.com Executive Summary In 2013, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) Together, these trails, located in and adjacent to the conducted a study of six connected trails (the Trails) Oil Heritage Region of Pennsylvania, represent more that make up the central leg of the developing 270- than 66 miles of continuous multi-modal corridor. mile Erie to Pittsburgh Trail (EPT) and are located The six trails surveyed are as follows: in northwest Pennsylvania. Y Queen City Trail (1.4 mi) The Trails are connected by geography, history and Y Oil Creek State Park Trail (9.7 mi) marketing. Owned, operated and maintained by Y several trail organizations and municipalities, the McClintock Trail (3.7 mi) Trails are also promoted by the Oil Region Alliance Y Samuel Justus Recreation Trail (5.8 mi) of Business, Industry and Tourism, an economic Y Allegheny River Trail (34.2 mi) development and tourism promotion agency that Y Sandy Creek Trail (12 mi) also administers the designated Oil Region National Heritage Area. An analysis of the data accumulated from infrared counters located along the Trails and paper surveys received from users indicates an estimated 158,507 annual user visits to the combined Trails, resulting in a total economic impact in 2013 of $7,479,348 ($6,928,620 directly into the local economy). This study utilized a survey methodology previously tested on Pennsylvania trails and documented in RTC’s Trail User Survey Workbook available on the RTC Trail-Building ToolBox (railstotrails.org/ resources/documents/resource_docs/UserSurvey Methodology.pdf). This survey was designed specifically to monitor trail-user characteristics and economic impact. Five of the trails are directly connected (at grade), forming one continuous route from Titusville in the north to Parker, Pa., in the south. A sixth trail, Sandy Creek Trail, runs east to west and crosses the Allegheny River Trail high above grade via the Belmar Bridge. The trail provides direct access to the 1,385-foot railroad trestle that spans the Allegheny 2 / Erie to Pittsburgh Trail 2013 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis River and affords visitors spectacular views of the Seven questions regarding expenditures while visit- river valley. A physical connection to the north- ing the trail were included on the survey form. The south route of the Allegheny River Trail is provided term “hard goods” is used to describe durable items via a staircase and side ramp for bicycles. such as bicycles, clothing and accessories, while “soft goods” is applied to non-durable items such as food Survey forms were available at 14 locations along and drinks. the trails and were also made available during special community events. More than 1,700 surveys were In 2013, more than 87 percent of the survey respon- distributed between May and October of 2013. A dents reported spending an average of $337.50 on total of 455 surveys were received and tabulated. hard goods because of their use of the trail. The majority of survey respondents (89.8 percent) Soft goods purchases were reported by 76.8 percent are from Pennsylvania, with residents representing of respondents, for an average dollar amount of 25 mostly regional counties. Local survey respon- $21.62 per visit. These purchases are reported to dents included individuals from Venango County have been made in conjunction with their trail visit. (27.1 percent), Butler County (12.2 percent), Allegheny County (11.1 percent), Clarion County Overnight lodging is the third element used to (10.6 percent) and Crawford County (9.1 percent). deter mine an overall economic impact. Of the survey respondents, 13 percent reported paying for Close to one quarter of the respondents (24.2 per- overnight lodging in the area, with an average stay of cent) are less than 45 years of age. The predominant 2.6 nights. age range of the respondents is 56 to 65 (34.4 percent), and less than 15 percent reported having A 2006 study* conducted by the Oil Region Alliance young children with them on the trail. The gender and Allegheny Valley Trails Association estimated split among the survey respondents was 46.6 percent that approximately 160,792 users frequented the trail female and 53.4 percent male. system within the Oil Heritage Region through out the 2006 calendar year. That survey covered a slight- The trails are used by individuals who are biking ly broader geographic area and included specific costs (51.8 percent) and walking (27.8 percent) for such as gas expenditures and boat rentals, which are reasons of health (54.5 percent) or recreation (42.8 not included in this survey of trail users. However, percent). The top activities include jogging (6.4 a general comparison of the two surveys can be percent), fishing (3.7 percent) and geocaching (2.7 made that demonstrates a clear increase in the level percent). of economic impact to the area being contributed by trail users. Compared to the 2006 results, the Most respondents to the survey indicated that they 2013 survey confirms an annual increase in the learned of the trail through word of mouth rather trails’ total economic impact of more than $3 than any direct marketing. Just slightly more than million. 20 percent credited tourist promotion and websites for their introduction to the trail. * www.avta-trails.org/AVTA-Study-2006.html Rails-to-Trails Conservancy / 3 Historical Perspective* Original settlements by the Seneca Indians were Oil City is located 10 miles northeast of Franklin built throughout the Allegheny River Valley as early at the confluence of Oil Creek and the Allegheny as the 1600s. In 1753, at the start of the French and River. Early French maps used the label Oyl Creek Indian War, ownership of the land was contested due to the natural seeps and oil springs along among the French, the Native Americans and the the waterway. Quantities of oil were discovered British. The French built Fort Mauchault at the near Titusville in the Oil Creek Valley in 1859 by Confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny Colonel Edwin Drake and William Smith. Almost River in the area that is now Franklin, Pa. At the overnight, towns such as Miller Farm, Pioneer and start of the French and Indian War, it is believed Petroleum Center blossomed as opportunists rushed that more than a thousand French and Canadian to get rich from the “Great Oil Dorado.” The signif- soldiers with an additional thousand Indians mus- icance of this achievement was not the discovery tered out of Fort Mauchault. As the war was ending of oil in western Pennsylvania but rather Colonel and negotiations over land ownership were taking Drake’s design for the casing, pump and derrick, place, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded which allowed for the commercial production of land — including what is now Oil City — to Chief oil. Up until that time, oil was considered more of Cornplanter of the Iroquois Nation. In 1759, at the a nuisance by-product to salt mining. It wasn’t long end of the French and Indian War, Fort Mauchault after Drake’s announcement of a feasible method was burned to the ground by the French. Fort for producing commercial quantities of oil that the Franklin was built at the location in 1787 and even- Allegheny Valley Railroad was extended to Oil City tually developed into the town of Franklin, platted (1868) and connected the oil fields to Pittsburgh, in 1795 and incorporated in 1828. Pa. Prior to that, river barges