Sussex Branch Trail 2011 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................2. Historical Perspective .....................................................................4 Locational Analysis ........................................................................5 Sussex Branch Trail Map ................................................................6 Demographics ...............................................................................8 Qualitative Values of the Sussex Branch Trail..................................9 2.011 Survey Results ....................................................................10 Methodology and Analysis ..........................................................14 Comparative Analysis ..................................................................16 Sussex Branch Trail User Estimate ................................................2.0 Economic Impact ........................................................................2.1 Trail Maintenance, Surface and Safety .........................................2.4 Appendix A—Trail Counter Data .................................................2.6 Funding provided by the F. M. Kirby Foundation Our thanks to Boyd Loving for photos on pages: 3 (middle and right), 7, 17, 19 (top), 2.0, 2.2., and 2.5; and Teresa Rose for the photos on pages 10, 14 and 2.1. Sussex Branch Trail 2011 User Survey and Economic Impact Analysis Carl Knoch, Manager of Trail Development Northeast Regional Office Rails-to-Trails Conservancy January 2012 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Northeast Regional Office 2.133 Market Street, Suite 2.2.2. Camp Hill, PA 17011 tel 717.2.38.1717 / fax 717.2.38.7566 National Headquarters 2.12.1 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor Washington, DC 2.0037 tel 2.02..331.9696 / fax 2.02..2.2.3.92.57 www.railstotrails.org www.TrailLink.com Executive Summary An analysis of the economic data and The Sussex Branch Tail is a multi-use pathway that the trail user counts leads to an estimate runs for 18 miles in New Jersey from Waterloo of the annual economic impact of Road in Byram Township to Mill Street in Branch- the trail on the communities through ville, Sussex County. which it passes. During 2011, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) conducted this study of the users of the Sussex From data collected in 2011, we Branch Trail under a grant from the F. M. Kirby estimate the annual economic Foundation. This study utilized a survey methodol- impact of the Sussex Branch Trail ogy previously tested on Pennsylvania, New Jersey to be $239,000. and New York trails and documented in RTC’s Trail User Survey Workbook (www.railstotrails.org/ resources/documents/resource_docs/UserSurvey- Methodology.pdf). This survey was designed to monitor trail user characteristics and economic impact. Survey forms were available at eight locations along the Sussex Branch Trail from mid-May through October 2011. Completed responses were mailed back to RTC. In all, 304 completed survey forms are included in this analysis. The survey included seven questions about expen- ditures in order to develop a profile of trail user spending habits. Nearly 84 percent of respondents indicated they had purchased some form of durable good, also known as a “hard good,” for use while on the trail (shoes, bike supplies, etc.), with users spending an average of $294.32 per person in the previous 12 months. Consumable goods, or “soft goods” such as snacks and drinks, were purchased by 51.2 percent, for an average expenditure of $9.88 per person, per trip. Lodging was the third factor examined for economic analysis. Just 2.5 percent of the Sussex Branch Trail survey respondents indi- cated they paid for lodging at a hotel or motel for an average of $52.75 per night. 2. / Sussex Branch Trail 2.011 User Survey For this study, we placed two infrared counters on respondents; nearly 80 percent rated safety and the trail. Based on the collected data, we estimate security along the trail as good to excellent; and there are more than 13,000 annual user visits to the 78.5 percent felt the trail surface was good to Sussex Branch Trail. excellent. ZIP codes indicate a large majority of trail users on The respondents’ willingness to donate a voluntary the Sussex Branch Trail are from the local commu- annual fee to help maintain the trail was substantial, nities in Sussex County (67.2 percent). Trail users with 63.3 percent in support and 36.7 percent op- from other New Jersey counties represented 29.8 posed. percent of the sample. The remaining trail users came from other states (3.0 percent). The segment of trail used most often by respondents was Kittatinny Valley State Park to U.S. Route 206 The age profile of users is similar to that seen in (22.1 percent). The next most heavily used section other trail surveys, with the majority of users (53.8 was Cranberry Lake to Waterloo Road, mostly percent) in the range of 46 to 65 years old. through Allamuchy Mountain State Park (18.7 per- cent). Lowest usage was at the far northern segment The Sussex Branch Trail is used primarily for walking of the Sussex Branch Trail between Mill Street in and bicycling, with walking/hiking slightly more Branchville to Augusta Hill Road (6.7 percent). In common (39.6 percent) than cycling (37.1 percent). the comments, this section was singled out as having Another 11.4 percent of respondents indicated pet poor trail surface conditions. walking as a primary activity. The Sussex Branch is part of an evolving trail Most survey respondents (53.8 percent) spent one network across the state of New Jersey. The Liberty– to two hours on the trail. Only 18.7 percent of Water Gap Trail, when completed, will stretch from respondents spent more than two hours on their Liberty Park on the Hudson River in Jersey City, to visit. With the trail being used more for walks, this Columbia on the Delaware River. Liberty–Water breakdown is fairly typical. Gap Trail signage appears along the Sussex Branch Trail at trailheads and road crossings. However, only Only a little more than a quarter (26.5 percent) of 47.4 percent of survey respondents acknowledged survey respondents indicated they considered their awareness of the Liberty–Water Gap Trail. use of the trail recreational, while more than half (67.4 percent) indicated they considered their use of the trail to be for health and exercise. This pattern further validates the high percentage of respondents who use the trail more than twice a week. Overall, maintenance on the Sussex Branch Trail was rated good to excellent by 78.1 percent of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy / 3 Historical Perspective The Sussex Branch Trail began in the late 1840s as In 1966, train service was discontinued between the narrow-gauge, mule-drawn Sussex Mine Rail- Andover and Branchville. The depot in Newton was road, whose primary purpose was hauling iron ore torn down in 1970. The abandonment of the line from the mines in Andover to Waterloo Village was finalized by the mid-1970s. on the Morris Canal. The Sussex Mine Railroad changed its name to Sussex Railroad Company in In 1979 the New Jersey Department of Environ- the mid-1850s and embarked on expansion of the mental Protection (DEP) purchased the southern railroad to Newton. In 1864 the controlling interest end of the Sussex Branch Railroad corridor from in the Sussex Railroad Company was purchased by Netcong to Andover Junction. The northern seg- owners of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western ment, Andover Junction to Branchville, was pur- Railroad. By 1869, the Sussex Railroad had expand- chased by DEP in 1982. ed to reach Branchville. The trail is managed by the New Jersey Department The Sussex Railroad prospered until the early 1900s of Environmental Protection, Division of Parks and when competition from automobiles and trucks Forestry. It runs through portions of two state parks, began to eat into passenger and freight business. By Allamuchy Mountain State Park and Kittatinny the early 1940s, the railroad was looking at reducing Valley State Park. service to Newton. 4 / Sussex Branch Trail 2.011 User Survey Locational Analysis The Sussex Branch Trail is located in Sussex County City. Phase one construction between Port Morris in northwestern New Jersey. The trail begins in Junction and Andover started in 2011. The Sussex Allamuchy Mountain State Park right off Waterloo Branch passes through Andover, where a number of Road (County Road 604), just north of Stanhope, establishments provide meals and refreshments just N.J., and extends 18 miles roughly north to Mill a few feet from the trail. Leaving Andover, the trail Street in Branchville, N.J. At Warbasse Junction crosses U.S. Route 206 and enters Kittatinny Val- near Newton, the Paulinskill Valley Trail intersects ley State Park. After leaving the park and crossing with the Sussex Branch Trail. Sparta Road, the Sussex Branch Trail goes on-road along County Road 663, which begins as Hicks The Sussex Branch passes through a primarily rural Avenue but becomes Warbasse Junction Road. At landscape, including two state parks: Allamuchy Warbasse Junction, the Sussex Branch intersects the Mountain State Park, which is primarily a hard- Paulinskill Valley Trail, which follows the banks of wood forest, and Kittatinny Valley State Park. After the Paulinskill River, shaded by the river’s riparian leaving Allamuchy Mountain, the trail passes along barrier. Crossing U.S. Route 206 (Hampton House the banks of Cranberry Lake. The trail crosses the Road), the