Loading...
08/18/1997 - Advisory Parks & Recreation Commission AGENDA ADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION EAGAN, MINNESOTA Monday, August 18, 1997 7:00 PM Eagan Municipal Center City Council Chambers A. 6:00 Park Tour - River Hills Park, Cinnamon Park, Kettle Park B. 7:00 PM Regular Meeting C. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance 7:02 pm D. Approval of Agenda 7:03 pm E. Recognize Eagle Scouts 7:04 pm F. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of July 14, 1997 7:10 pm G. Visitors to be Heard 7:11 pm H. Department Happenings Pages 3-4 1. Consent Agenda 7:20 pm J. Development Proposals 7:21 pm K. Old Business 7:22 pm (1) Inventory Mapping - GPS Recorder Presentation L. New Business 7:35 pm M. Parks Development Update 7:36 pm N. Water Resources Update 7:37 pm 0. Other Business and Reports (1) Kiosk/Sign Survey and Report - Craig Walter Pages 5-34 7:38 pm (2) Set Meeting for Development Sub-committee 7:55 pm N. Round Table 7:56 pm 0. Adjournment 8:00 pm The City of Eagan is committed to the policy that all persons have equal access to its programs, services, activities, facilities and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, marital status , sexual orientation, or status with regard to public assistance. Auxiliary aids for disabled persons wishing to participate are available upon request at least 96 hours in advance of the events. If a notice of less than 96 hours is received, the City will attempt to provide the aids. city of eagan MEMO TO: ADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION FROM: KEN VRAA, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION DATE: AUGUST 12,1997 SUBJECT: AUGUST COMMISSION MEETING The Augustl8 Commission meeting is one of the lightest agendas that has come forward for some time. You should be able to plan some family activities after the conclusion of this meeting! The Commission will tour three neighborhood parks prior to the meeting. We will depart from the east lot at 6:00 p.m. and return at 7:00 p.m. for the meeting. After the call to order and pledge of allegiance, the first item of business is recognition of projects performed by Eagle Scouts this past year in the parks. Staff will then review the Department Happenings. There are no consent or development proposals to review this month. Last month the Commission asked for a review of the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) Record System that the Forestry Division has used to record boulevard and public trees. This presentation is for information only and no action is required. Staff will also provide brief updates on recent activities in Parks Development and Water Quality. As part of his internship requirements, Student Intern Craig Walters was asked to research trail information kiosks that might be helpful for the Commission and staff as we begin to plan for and implement installation of these information stations at key points along Eagan's trail system. Although no specific action is requested, if the Commission sees a value and benefit as a result of this report, they may want to direct additional study by one of the sub-committees or staff. The final action item is to set a meeting date for the Acquisition and Development Sub- committee. The purpose of this meeting is to review an item that will appear on the September Commission agenda, priorities for the CIP recently adopted by the Council, and to again review the trail proposed for Wondering Walk Park. As always, if members are unable to attend either the tour or regular meeting, please notify staff of your absence. Respectfully submitted, Ken Vraa AUGUST, 1997 DEPARTMENT HAPPENINGS 1. The Department will provide 29 soccer fields for the Eagan Athletic Association and Dakota Hills Middle School fall programs. EAA will also use 4 fields at Eagan High School, which are maintained by school crews. Once again, it is the age of the participants that places virtually all of the responsibility for fields on the City. Were the children older, more school facilities would "fit" the needs. 2. Staff have met with Dave Gervais, EAA Travel Baseball Director, to review the organization's desire to field more teams in 1998. Expansion would occur at younger age levels, which allows for more flexibility in field allocation. The expansion of travel would likely result in an equal reduction in the in-house program, making the change virtually a wash and manageable. 3. Evening in the Park is moving along to its conclusion on August 6. The stage had to be set up in Trapp Farm pavilion on two occasions. The weather was threatening the first time and the amphitheater was soggy the next week. The pavilion worked well, even with a large crowd for the Ronald McDonald Show. 4. The Department will host a Men's D Region tournament on August 8-10. Sixty-two teams are entered. All games will be played at Northview Athletic. If the weather is warm, the concessions will do well. 5. Recreation staff has begun preliminary planning for fall activities. The fall brochure will be distributed right after Labor Day. Staff looks forward to many new 3 year olds in their first experience in organized activity. 6. The adult co-recreational tennis league is in the play-off stage of its activity. Playing with teams from Inver Grove Heights, Eagan can boast of a champion in one division and a runner up in the other division for the regular season's play. 7. The City's Northview soccer fields sustained considerable wear and tear due to the generous amount of rain in July and the heavy schedule of games. Fortunately, youth soccer is currently between seasons. To allow time to repair the Northview soccer fields, the few remaining adult games were moved to Ohmann Park. Dakota Hills Middle School will be the primary user of Northview soccer facilities this fall. 8. Staff held its fall City/School meeting with District 196 personnel. These quarterly meetings help to keep lines of communication open, to plan for facility use and to share expertise. Frequently awareness for problem solving emerges through shared effort. 9. The Department's youth tennis lesson program was again well received. Thirty-four of 36 classes offered were held. Staff are considering adding a third lesson site, at least during the most popular time frames - late June and mid-July. 10. Recreation revenues are on target to once again surpass projections for FY1997. Environmental Education, i.e. nature activities, youth development and sports & creative camps are among the programs whose popularity has resulted in increased revenue. 11. National Youth Sports Coaches certification clinics will be held for EAA coaches the week of August 11. Football and soccer are the sports scheduled to be addressed. Typically the turn out is smaller in the fall compared to the April offering. With the size of the soccer program one never knows! 12. The Department will host an undergraduate intern from the U of M beginning September 15. Cindy Fitzsimons is majoring in leisure studies and will work primarily in recreation. However, staff will challenge her to experience all other aspects of the Department as well. 13. Staff is preparing the construction documents for the construction of the additional parking lot at Lexington/Diffley. An August bid opening is anticipated. 3 14. The 7'' Annual Safety Camp was completed on August 5. The 3 day camp is coordinated with Police and Fire Department staff. 15. Recreation staff are conducting exit interviews with summer playground staff. Although time consuming, the interviews enable supervisory staff to complete the summer long teaching process with young employees. 16. Bid packages have been sent to 5 contractors for the color coating of 5 tennis courts and 11 play courts. The work is expected to be completed during September. 17. Staff is researching the possibility of using a plastic/rubber tile over the tennis courts at O'Leary Park. Subsurface moisture has caused previous surface treatments to peel. 18. A consulting engineering firm has completed a sub-surface investigation of the court area at Rahn Park. It now appears that the primary cause of the large cracks on the older courts is the lack of any base material under the bituminous material. Staff expects to have the engineering recommendations within the next several weeks and intends to have repairs made in 1998. 19. The midseason application of fertilizer has been completed at all athletic sites and the contracted school site. 20. As of August 1, staff has provided approximately $7,800 of maintenance services to the Dakota Hills Middle School. The services have included mowing, fertilization and infield renovations. The school district will be billed for the services under the terms of a previously approved 2 year agreement. It appears that the actual costs will be in line with the original estimates. There has been no significant impact on park maintenance activities. 21. Water levels remain high in several park water bodies, most notably Blackhawk and Patrick Eagan Parks. Because of the volume of water in the storm ponding system it may be weeks before levels return to normal. Several trail segments remain submerged. 22. The Dakota County Sentence to Service crews will be painting outdoor hockey rinks throughout the City during the next several weeks. 23. Staff has been mowing on weekends and in the evenings in an attempt to "keep up" with mowing schedules. 24. Staff has approved a contract with Barr Engineering for the completion of a Phase I environmental audit of Captain Dodd Park. The audit is the first step towards receiving MPCA "assurances" pertaining to any wastes on the site. Preliminary testing has found all contaminate levels to be within "acceptable" levels as established by MPCA. 25. From all indications the mulch sale conducted by staff on August 9 was a success. A second sale will be held early this fall. The price charged is minimal and is intended only to cover staff and equipment costs. Cs14/August Dept Happenings.dp. city of eagan MEMO TO: ADVISORY PARKS COMMISSION FROM: CRAIG WALTER, PARKS AND RECREATION INTERN THROUGH: KEN VRAA, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION DOROTHY PETERSON, SUPERINTENDENT OF RECREATION DATE: AUGUST 5TM, 1997 RE: REPORT ON KIOSKS PURPOSE This project was initiated because there was an identified need to accommodate the different masses of public that use and travel on the Eagan trails. The System Plan also identifies this as a need. It is also being done to fulfill my requirements as an intern. When the public travels through Eagan on any of the many trails, they should be informed of the specific facilities that are available to them. These facilities could possibly be parks, rest facilities, water fountains, and others. This information could be given out via informational kiosk/signs that are posted at various locations through out the Eagan area. The following study examines the feasibility of informational kiosk/signage along the Eagan trail system. This will include the possible costs, designs, and locations of the kiosks. OVERVIEW After I received this assignment from Ken Vraa, Director of Parks and Recreation and Dorothy Peterson, Superintendent of Recreation I decided that it would be beneficial to talk to different people for information. All of the people I talked to were directly involved with and had knowledge about kiosk design, cost or information. The first person I talked to was Dean Heng from Hennepin County Parks, who is the Operations Supervisor. I also met with Lynn Morotzke, Dakota County Planner of Trails, we 1 talked about existing kiosks in the County. I continued to talk to different people like Steve Sullivan, Dakota County Park Architect about their park kiosks. I also spoke with representatives of companies that manufacture signs/kiosks. The first company I talked to was Safety Signs; I spoke with Jay Blanchard on certain projects that they have done. The last person I spoke with was Cheryl Frenette with Vomela graphics. All of the conversations I had with these people were helpful in providing me the important information. I had also decided that a survey would be beneficial to this report. The purpose of this survey would be to find out what people thought about kiosks and if kiosks would be helpful to them. Also the survey was used as sort of a person count to see if people were actually using the trails. In this report, you will be reading about the following items: ? Possible locations for kiosk/signage ? Existing kiosks/signage ? Different options for kiosk/signage ? My survey results INTRODUCTION Trails are one of the most popular recreation facilities within a park system. These trails are important not just to the park but also the whole city. Trails and trailways may be specifically in a park or on the side of a road. The existing trails and trail development in Eagan are primarily an outgrowth of the community's park and trail system plan along with Dakota County's plan. These trails all have many different uses in today's growing world. Sometimes trails are used for transportation, recreation, and (or) just personal enjoyment. All of these possibilities happen via rollerblades, walking, biking, or running. The City of Eagan must look at all of these uses when providing and planning for the community's future. Goals proposed in the Park System Plan pertaining to the development and improvement of Eagan's trail system relevant to this study are: ? To provide a coordinated trail system of the state, county, and local trails that meets the recreational and transportation needs of the community. ? To coordinate trail systems with the adjacent communities. 2 ? To establish a consistent trail signage and public information program. Past studies have shown that the use of Eagan's trails is going up in population and frequency. With this increasing usage of the trails, the City must visualize possible ways to make the trails more appealing and useful. One way of doing this would be by posting kiosks/signs with information along Eagan's trails. DEFINITION OF TERMS On Road Trail - the right shoulder of a traffic lane of a collector street Off Road Trail - an 8-foot wide bituminous asphalt trail along major thoroughfares or an independent trail. Sidewalk - a 5-foot wide concrete walkway; found in conjunction with bituminous trails or as connection to trails along neighborhood collector streets. Bike Route - any trail along a street, on or off road, that is designated by Dakota County with a Bike Route Sign BACKGROUND Eagan has about 93 miles of trails and trailways to offer citizens, most of these trails are along arterial roads such as Pilot Knob, Yankee Doodle, and Cliff. The bike routes, as assigned by Dakota County, are marked with a green bike route sign that has a bicycle on it and the words `BIKE ROUTE' along the roads (Picture 1). These are helpful but they tend to be a bit confusing because they are spread out too far along the different roads. A good amount of these bike routes are adjacent to other communities and tie into their trail system. In talking with Ken Vraa, we decided that some of the most logical and preliminary places to start this possible kiosk location is where Eagan's trails meet with trails coming from other community's. Some of these locations that are adjacent to or closer to other community's are: Interstate 494 & Pilot Knob coming from Mendota Heights, Pilot Knob & Cliff road which eventually leads into Apple Valley, Silver Bell Road / Beau D Rue / T.H. 13 area which descends into the river bottom with the option of going into Bloomington or into Burnsville. The last two sites are at both ends of the Highline trail. All of these locations would be good locations for a possible kiosk/sign. 3 '7 G 1 1-d O o r'' o `o o 1 ho, \ r 6 R„ ~~r G j 4 4 Site 1 0 INTERSTATE HWY. NO. 494 LKJ p 200 0 e`~0 0 NGr°'~' ® ~•Trail Possible location ® of Kiosk The intersection of Interstate 494 & Pilot Knob road is a logical northern spot. An off the road, bituminous trail is on the west side of the road south of 1-494. This North-South trail continues on both sides of Pilot Knob all the way through Eagan to Apple Valley while crossing many major East-West trails. There is an off road bituminous trail that veers to the West that serves as a river crossing into Bloomington. Once across the Interstate 494 bridge, to the North, there is a bituminous off road trail on the West side of the road into Mendota Heights. 5 9 Site 2 11000, F~ \ / Ole 1000' 1.0000' 19 'PO Ole / 4000' 1-1 / rlkn / / ¦I JJ Sidewalk Trail 10, Possible location •r' of Kiosk / / 100, Ole / SILVER BELL ROAD / II / I I / A third possible location is the Silver Bell / Beau D Rue / think highway 13 area. Silver Bell, an East-West road, has a sidewalk on one side from Blackhawk across trunk highway 13 to Nicols road. Nicols road then has an on the road bituminous trail to the river. Beau D Rue, which is intersected by Rahn Road, has a North-South, on the road, bituminous trail that runs into Nicols road. g lb Site 3 I I o a I v M ~ I ~ 1 Trail CLIFF ROAD Present Kiosi The location at Cliff and Pilot Knob is a good southern location. It is only 1-mile from the Apple Valley border. There is already a kiosk connected to the brick water treatment marquee. To the West, on both sides of Cliff road, is an off the road bituminous trail, it then becomes sidewalk at Blackhawk road and continues on to Nichols road. To the East, there is an off the road bituminous trail until Dodd road. To the North and South is the bituminous Pilot Knob trail. 7 Site 4 .--N 16H LINE TRAIL ® I I I 1 I Imow - Trail Possible loca i of Kiosk S(. iMER LANE I / The High-Line trail is a 5.4 mile trail that generally runs underneath high power lines, along the easement from the Power Company. It is a bituminous trail that runs from Dodd road to Nicols road. At the Eastern most point, there are bituminous trails on both sides of the North-South Dodd road from Cliff toDiffley roads. The High-Line trail runs for 'A-mile to Trapp Farm through a wooded area. It then runs along Widerness Run road from Trapp Farm to Pilot Knob road. At Pilot Knob it continues West on the easement through wooded and residential areas. 8 Site 5 SHALE LN. O cc to O Z RANK ATHLETIC 100 r Trail ® Possible location of Kiosk The Western most point of the High- Line trail is at Rahn Athletic fields off of Nicols road. This road has a north-south trail that is an off the road, bituminous trail. The High-Line trail has a little jog on Blackhawk road to get across Interstate 35E. This trail has many places along it to transfer on and off other trails. 9 /3, DAKOTA COUNTY KIOSKS There are kiosks in all of the Dakota County parks. There are a couple of different designs of kiosks in the parks. Along Dakota County Roads, there are three kiosks on trails that are for public use. There is one in Rosemount, Apple Valley, and Eagan The current kiosks in the County parks are basic wooden standards. These have a corkboard for posting information with pushpins or tacks. It is covered with a hinged, plexiglas door and has the name of the park above it. The roof is at a slight angle to the rear. There are mailboxes on the sides of these kiosks with trail maps in them (Picture 2). The information in these kiosks has to do with the individual park more than the trails. They basically have the park hours, rules, and a general trail map. These kiosks are at trailheads in the parks, designed by the park architect and constructed by Vo.-Tech students and the County carpenter. I talked with the Dakota County Park Architect/Planner, Steve Sullivan, and he says that the County is in the process of designing or implementing new kiosks for the parks to replace the old, outdated ones talked about above. One of these new kiosks is located down at Spring Lake Park Reserve. The new kiosks is designed nicely in the shape of a half gazebo type shelter. They are roughly 10' tall and 11' wide with three information panels with plexiglas doors (Picture 3). Steve stated that this is the basic design and might be altered to fit aesthetically with the other buildings on site. I could not get a price estimate on this particular kiosk due to the fact that the County built it. The supplies were bought from a local lumber company on a as needed basis. The kiosks that are out on the County trails in the different cities are all basically the same but just have little design differences. The kiosk site in Eagan is located at Blackhawk Rd. and Cliff Rd. in the park-n-ride parking lot. This has a bench, a bike rack, bike lockers, and the covered kiosk (Picture 4). The kiosk is not fully covered, it is more of a shade cover. It is 10' 4" tall. The kiosk has two 4' 6" diameter information display boards covered with plexiglas. One board has a Dakota County trails map in it and the other is empty. The trails map indicates all county trails and where some services are such as libraries and bus stops (Picture 5). In the meeting with Lynn Morotzke, Dakota County Trail Planner, she stated that the space in the empty board was for city use if need be. The bench has a bike form out of blue PVC pipe with plastic wood for the seat. The bike rack is also PVC pipe. There are 3 bike lockers for rental through the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority. 10 The kiosk in Rosemount is located at the intersection of Chippendale Rd. and County Rd. 42. This site does not have the bike locker or the bike rack and the cover of it is different. The bicycle type bench is the same. The cover of this one is a'/4 of a circle that is plastic, see- through sheeting. It is angled upward at an 18 degree angle, this is more for architecture purpose than a shade purpose (Picture 6). It has a single, informational display board is the same as the one in Eagan. The kiosk in Apple Valley is located at the intersection of County Rd. 46 and Lac Lavon Rd. This sites amenities is a mixture of the previous two sites. The bench structure is the same bike design but the kiosk and cover look like the one at the park-n-ride. Again, the single informational board is the same diameter and has the same map. The County did these designs with strict regulations due a the grant from the State of Minnesota that was paying for it. Safety Signs did the manufacturing and fabrication of the kiosks. I could not get a specific price on these due to the different designs, concrete amounts, etc. Jay Blanchard, from Safety Signs, did state a good ball park figure was $2,000-$3,000 each. The idea behind this design was to have a flashy, eye-catching entity. Lynn also stated that there really has been no feedback from the public about these kiosks. There were feedback forms out at the locations for people to fill out and tell the County what they thought but the County has not seen one of these turned in. This may be due to lack of marketing the kiosks, or the visibility of them. My meeting with Lynn Morotzke was very informational. As I started telling her more about my project and what Ken was having me do she seemed to become more enthusiastic about the idea. Lynn stated that the County has been waiting for cities to look at possibly putting up kiosks. I showed her the locations Ken and I were looking at for possible kiosks, she was interested in the two locations on the County Roads. These locations are Pilot Knob/I-494 and Pilot Knob/Cliff. She stated that the County would only be able to help with the kiosks at the locations on County Roads. The point was also brought up that if the city did want help from Dakota County, that there would be some sort of financial assistance possibly to help. The feeling I received from the meeting with Lynn was that the kiosks the County would want to help with would be the same design as the PVC ones that are already in Eagan, Apple Valley and Rosemount. I think that these kiosks would be beneficial to both the City of Eagan 11 /J and Dakota County. I would think that this is an expensive design to be implementing everywhere. Implementing the same design would have to require a good amount of space and it would also need to be aesthetically pleasing. KIOSKS IN EAGAN In Eagan there are two kiosks that I looked at in my study, the one already talked about at the park-n-ride and there is one in the cement block marquee at the Cliff Water Treatment Plant. The location of this marquee is at Cliff Road and Pilot Knob Road. This kiosk is a small one that is connected to the marquee itself (Picture 7). The size is 20" by 26" this kiosk probably could not be altered. Therefore this would just need some type of informational map placed in it. There are also four sitting benches at this location, along with a functional water fountain (Picture 8). As of right now there is no information posted in this kiosk. /f . 12 Picture I t vti ,i Picture 2 su .r s s ® ~ - t'. S Picture 3 / 13 w, t a fwd s ,sr Picture 4 - S Tom. OND Picture 5 -,mow-e~--;; - ` i1 t t ? y rsf A We _ . • ~ . alb .•:~3 ~ Picture 6 IA 4 I CA IM a +o~rz A Picture 7 41 y} •.z T'' 'yam-_' C'yllo Picture 8 1 15 POSSIBLE DESIGN OPTIONS While doing my research for this report I decided to look at some possible designs being used by others. The first example is a design done by Dean Heng from the Hennepin County Parks Department. This frame was created in an effort to make the Hennepin County park kiosks a little more attractive and durable. Dean, Operations Supervisor, created this himself after seeing the older signs getting beat up and wore out. He wanted something not too expensive, durable, and updateable. Updateable meaning easy to change the information on the inside. The ones they were using were just plywood signs with the information screened on them. These were in a frame similar to that of the Graphic Solutions low profile, horizontal format. These older signs are in the Hennepin Parks system now. The new posts and frame that Dean designed are all die cast aluminum and stand about 5' 2" tall (Drawing 1). The frame will have a 2' by 3' sign in it. The post will have the frame , connected to it. The frame will have two plexiglas sheets for protection of the sign (Drawing 2). The outer one will take the blunt of abuse. This outer sheet, according to Dean, can be replaced relatively inexpensively. The sign itself will be double sided, vinyl screened. It will be mounted on wood and notched to slide down on the center rail. There is a cover frame for the top. Dean said that the couple of signs they have put up with this design so far have had good reviews from the public. They are planning on changing them in batches of 35 or so to curb the costs. This particular post/frame cost about $237.50 a piece. This does not include the sign or the plexiglas. The Graphic Solution model referred to above is an option also (Figure A). This company does different kiosks than the two shown on the sheet. The two samples are the Vertical Profile Horizontal Format (VPH), and the Low Profile Horizontal Format (LPH). This company gave me a price quote on each of these; the largest VPH is about $550.00, while the largest LPH runs about $600.00, that would be without the maps/info. An option with the actual printing of the map could be going with the afore mentioned vinyl screening process. I received some information from Vomela, a company that does this sort of screening process. It turns out that this product is really a 3M product, they are the ones that designed this particular electronic graphics process. While talking with Cheryl Frenette, 16 graphics salesperson, she informed me of the cost and process of the electronics graphics system. Cheryl said that there is a basic cost for the screening process, this is about $15 a square foot. The cost does depend on how print ready the original is and how much work they have to do before actually screening. They can take designs from computer discs, 35mm slides, or transparencies. It was brought to my attention that this company does most of the DNR's park signs. Although this is a quality sign, the material that was screened on could not be easily updated or changed. There is always the option of designing a kiosk within the parks department. The building could also be done in house. 17 Drawing I SELF TAPPIMG SGCI-EWS INTO - scaEw poa-rs TOp 0F AWM - IHL4M Tug( To 0E GA PFE D I,~ FAGE ,c , vJII7E GU SToM pis sly N PLZA. M E - em -Soo FOWPE12- COAT- 6P ALUMINUM J WeILPEV FRAME GOWJ ERs - FACES Gczou)P Pow DER- C ED ALUMIE,JM eXISTING^ 4P-oUNp~ TUBING llll~llll~illl =i111=I(II~1111=illlllll i1 =llfl=l~~~i=(Ippl I IIIII= rill ' Il~ll 1--I! 1 III! I (III i ( hill I I I dull i ilk II ~,II II x-23'7 S V II II LU U SIGN PETAIL HENNEPIN SCALE: II/ : T srANVa9zo SIGN DETAIL PARKS I71ST4z1G7' Wi DE t}ATE: FE$ 1996 At-t. PATS DRAWN: LLSL DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND 18 GINEERING 559.9000 SHEET OF Drawing 2 O.ItS' o•1L5' ~ O•tS O.62" tJ r. SMA LL C2ADIUS b o U o d o SECTIoF4 CU,T*4 mzth m ? - EM -Goo v1ECAST AwMtNUM SIGN PLEXIGLAS a 2/074 L WOOD SECTION : CUSTOM t=t2AME ACTUAL- SIZE P% C.A.ST AWM INtJM SCALE : 1.1o ScAL9 PIN s tG" Fv a m s DETP•M L PA CLASTIOM Au ',IHUM FMAM6 a3 DALE: V 4 19% 19 I~tSTC~-IGT" ~I MAWN: kSL Figure A THE PERFECT COMPLEMENT . to a Graphic Solutions wayside exhibit Is a high quality framing - -system. LOW MAINTENANCE - DURABLE -These all-aluminum systems -floated In a two-part polyurethane paint, provide maximum durability and require minimal maintenance by park personnel. -Durability, low maintenance, coordinated designs, easy Installations, and Interchangeable graphics any one of these features is reason enough to consider a Graphic Solutions framing system. However, combined, they add up to the lowest cost, most versatile t 47- 14 iW system for framing your wayside exhibits available today. W W 4 y. - _ a VPH VPV Vertical Profile Horizontal Format (VPH) Vertical Profile Horizontal Format (VPH) Vertical Profile Vertical Format (VPV) - r W H X W H X VPH 3624 36 24 36 VPV 2436 24 36 24 VPH 1815 18 15 45 VPV 1518 15 18 42 VPH 3020 30 20 40 VPV 2030 20 30 30 W E 1 f. ~8. LPH - Low Profile Horizontal Format (LPH) W H X - ? LPH 3020 30 20 34 LPH 3624 36 24 34 Low Profile Horizontal Format (LPH) Graphic Solutions Division of Advertising Inc. P.O. Box 1288.355 S. Potomac Street • Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 outdoor exhibits 20 SURVEY METHOD The survey part of my research involved a short, 11-question survey. This took the respondents about 3-4 minutes to fill out and then they were back on the trail. There were 32 people that took part in this survey although, there were many more observed. This survey was conducted over 25 hours in 2 hr intervals (weather permitting). These survey times were spread out in the morning and afternoons and some evening time slots at the five preliminary sites. These five sites at which this survey was administered, were the same ones noted as possible kiosk locations earlier in the report. So this was not a general survey, it just concentrated on the possible kiosk sites. RESULTS I observed 139 people out on the Eagan trails. Of these 139 people, 80 were bicyclists and 32 of those cyclists agreed to do the survey. The 59 non-bicyclists were classified as walkers, joggers, or others. The following figures are results gained from the survey, some numbers will be larger than the number of people interviewed; this is due to the opportunities for multiple responses. Most of the 139 people were bicyclists, 58%, the next largest figure is walkers with 24% of the total number. The runners only configured 14% percent of the total people observed. The other category turned up to be just 6 rollerbladers. (Fig. 1) # of Trail Users Walkers (33) 24% Bikers (80) Fanners (20) 58% 14% others (6) 4% Figure 1 21 ~J As shown in Figure 2, most of the people surveyed were residents of Eagan. These 24 people represent over three-quarters (77%) of the respondents. The 7 that listed themselves as non-residents did list their resident city. Of these, there were 2 from Apple Valley, and 1 each from Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights, Bloomington, Burnsville, and St. Paul. Percentages of those interviewed that are Eagan residents Non - residents 7 23% Eagan - residents 24 77% Figure 2 In looking at Figure 3, we can see how the people found out about the specific trails. The most sited response was from just riding around and noticing the trails. The How people find out about the trails News letter 1 s Bike shop Near a park 1 Live near it 1 a' 40 Friends K r.r..: Map 4, Just riding around 11'. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 frequency Figure 3 22 next most common response was from talking to friends. After those two, there were two that each had four responses, these were finding the trail on a map and living near the trail. There were three others mentioned with one response each. The distance traveled by the cyclist's was the topic of question 7 and Figure 4. The most commonly traveled distance range was from 1 to 5 miles per trip. 3 miles was registered 7 times in this range. Total distance traveled by cyclers 16 & abve 4 11 to 15 7 6to10 7 0 1 to 5 ys 13 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 frequency Figure 4 In the 6 to 10 mile and the 11 to 15 mile ranges, each had 7 responses. The most common response in those ranges was 12 miles. The average of all responses was 9.7 miles per trip. There were four responses above 16 miles; these were 26, 27, 30, and 40 miles. 23 Total users at certain sites 35 X33,' iF x 30 ~*f 26.. st 25 20 r P,--, 15w: 5 2 2, ¦Total users 0 ¦Cyclists Pilot & Cliff Pilot & 494 Highline E Highline W Beau D Rue location Figure 5 Figure 5 shows the breakdown between total users and cyclists' at each survey location. The W. and E. High Line trail locations were the highest in total use with 33 and 26 users observed respectively. Those same two trails also had the highest number of cyclists' with 9 and 10 respectively. The lowest number of users observed was at the Pilot Knob/ 1-494 location. 24c People aware of the trail system No (15) Yes (17) 47% 53% Figure 6 Figures 6, 7, and 8 all have to do with the kiosk and trail awareness. It shows that the awareness of our trail system is almost Chances of exploring different split 50-50 between people trails if they are known No (9) knowing and not-knowing of the trails. 28% If the responding people were made more aware of other trails, Q Yes (23) 72% 72% of them said they would go and explore them (Fig 7). In Figure 8, it shows us that Figure 7 91% of the respondents would actually stop and read the information Would you read information on a on the kiosks. kiosk? No(3) 9% Yes (29) 91% Figure 8 25 With Figure 8 showing us that people will stop to look at the kiosks, Figure 9 shows us what information the respondents regarded as important to them on the kiosk. The three highest responses were water (23), trails (22), and restrooms (20). Shelter and other parks received 6 and 9 responses respectively, while the `other' category received 3 responses, two for mileage and one for bike lanes. Items that would be helpful on a kiosk 25 23 22, .i~ 20, 20 rl' K ~ w 15 10 ~ Y' i 1~M„yw ?s 6 N3 f: ri yr 0 Restrooms Water Shelter Trails Parks *Other item Figure 9 vU 26 SUMMARY Although the survey did not have large numbers of participants, I feel it does tell us some valid things about the City of Eagan trail users. 1) The majority of trail users are residents of Eagan and even with this being true, the citizens are not real aware of the trail system. 2) Only 50% of the people are aware of the Eagan trail system but 72% said they would explore new trails if they were made aware of them. 3) Most of the bike trail respondents (20 of 31) were on a bike ride of 10 miles or less, implying that people are staying in Eagan. 4) The survey also shows that people would stop and look at the kiosks if they were there. This leads in to the results of question 11, they obviously want to know where certain things are in the Park System. Some of these items the citizens recognized as priorities were water, trails, and restrooms. Also there might be the possibility of putting other community's attractions at the kiosks on the edge of the city. I think that the 5 sites that were looked at were very adequate ones. These sites are all on major trails in Eagan. The time-spent surveying was parlayed around the cold, rainy. weather along with the minor flood we had in month of July. I feel that these conditions did have a negative effect on the survey. The people were just not out on the trials. The reason there were so many bikers observed and not surveyed was due to their unwillingness to stop and fill out the survey. Also, there were a lot of young kids that were counted but could not of comprehended the survey. This brings up the question of "If the people wouldn't stop to fill out a survey, would they stop to look at a kiosk?" I'think the answer would be yes. First, because they might have seen me as a bothersome, harassing, city worker. Secondly, they would probably want to stop and check out this new object on the trail. This, in turn, opens them up to all the possibilities the trails have to offer. Some of the people didn't have time to fill out the survey or were `late' to be somewhere. One more reason there were so many bikers observed is that it seemed no matter what corner of the intersection I was on, the people were at a different corner. This shows the importance of placement. I hope that this better informs you of kiosks/signs, trails and the Eagan citizens. 27 RECOMMENDATIONS 1) That kiosks should be a part of a master trail plan in the future. Kiosks would be a healthy asset to an already great park system. 2) Each site should be studied to find an optimum place for the kiosk. This includes sight lines, and the correct side of the road or trail. 3) To have Dakota County assist the City of Eagan if kiosks are decided upon. 4) Eagan should promote trails and kiosks to other cities. 5) In the event of kiosks being put up in Eagan, the citizens should be made aware of them by the paper, the brochure or some other publicity means. 6) Every option should be weighed when looking at companies and designs. 7) If kiosks are to be put in, they should be sturdy and metal in design, similar to the design of the Hennepin County Parks. The information in it should consist of (atleast) a map of trails, restroom location, water location, and Parks and Recreation information. This information could be screened on but with the ability to be updated. 28 `j~ REFERENCES Blanchard, Jay Safety Signs Inc., 19784 Kenrick Avenue Lakeville, MN 55044 ph. 469-6700 City of Eagan Park System Plan, 1995 Frenette, Cheryl Vomela Graphic Systems, 274 E. Fillmore Avenue St.Paul, MN 55107 ph. 228-2261 Graphic Solutions P.O. Box 1288 ; 355 Potomac St. Hagerstown, Maryland 21740 ph. (301) 791-6920 Heng, Dean Hennepin County Parks, 12615 County Road 9 Plymouth, MN 55441 ph. 559-6703 Morotzke, Lynn Dakota County Western Service Center (Planning), 14955 Galaxie Avenue Apple Valley, MN 55124 ph. 891-7030 Sullivan, Steve Dakota County Parks, 8500 127th St. E. Hastings, MN 55033 ph. 438-4662 29 23 Appendix A 1997 TRAIL/KIOSK SURVEY Date: Age: Time: Place: 1) Do you live in Eagan? Y / N If no, where? 2) How did you find out about this trail? 3) Reason for use of this trail. _ exercise _ recreation - transportation other 4) How often do you ride on this trail? 5) Are you riding through Eagan? Y / N 6) Where are you going? 7) How many miles is this bike ride/trip? 8) Are you familiar with the Eagan/Dakota county trail system? Y / N 9) If there were kiosks on the trails, would you explore different trails? Y / N 10) Would you stop and read the information on the kiosks? Y / N 11) What items would be helpful to you on a kiosk map? _ restrooms - water _ shelter _ parks trails other 30 1,4 -4419-17 4. yak ty agan 'AM Parks & Recreation Department Class Evalaatipn Fumme 9 S -Youth Safety Camp LOCATION: Thomas Lake Park In order to better serve the participants in our recreation programs, we need to receive as much input from the participants as possible. Therefore, we would like to ask you to take a few minutes to answer the following questions and give us your suggestions. THANK YOU1 Please answer the questions with more than a yes or no - for that answer does not indicate what we are doing t right or wrong. . _ . x ~ - - - - . _ ~Y Organization of the class _ jWell A organized _ Good organization Usually organized = _ Little organization, 77 Poor organization 2. Did you child enjoy the program? ,1 Yes No 3. Did the class cover what you 9 r S- I W a S 1 5ed t .41 4. What activities were enjoyed the least? k L 1Z e a jo he o st I/ Srf~ t activities EG ModrT" e e frur awl `7. ]ease comment on the family 44,!E, :279L, R,75' )nOt- 475 ~l'! GC SAC uat ' 43~ ' a cry 8. How you bear about Safety Camp? f 07 05 zc~ 9. Comments and sugge 'on for future topics, schedulin and provement• 7.1 or YOU yew inp Participation and PI fol ~-'cZ' slap e this form to the address on the reverse side. PPo stamp ' s j.'.,_ w: .mow Eagan Parks & Recreation Department -X81-46b0 ' r - Eagan Police Department .691-4700 Eagan Fire Department aittLrd-S City of Eagan Parks 8t Recreation Department Class Evaluation Form Summer 1997 CLASS NAME: Summer In the Park for 5 and 6 Year Olds LOCATION: Class ##861- Mon/Wed - Goat Hill Park In order to better serve the participants in our from the participants as possible. Therefore, we would like to ask need to retake aef wmuch in minutes to answer the following questions and give us your suggestions. THANK YOU! Please answer the questions with more than a yes or no - for that answer does not indicate what we are doing right or wrong. 1 • Organization of the class 2. Instructor's enthusiasm ZWell organized Good organization Very good _ Usually organized -Generally good - Little organization Mildly enthusiastic _ Poor organization - Occasional enthusiasm Bored 3. Did you child enjoy the program? 2 /Yes -No 4. Did the class cover what you expected? 5. Are you satisfied wittl the attention given your child? I .t- o~..-, o~ d tU 4-w~,, ec~ cGu~s urc~-c. Olt- MCA 6. What activities were enjoyed the most? WA'hee- A&^"& W , 7. Was the time frame satisfactory for you and your c • d? S. k. Stf - b.,t,,N~ot Ire a....ot1,.A.. _sa , a?...01 . What hours of the day would you prefer? I - O1' v s1,.•,~.t 9. What days of the week would you prefer? 1 IV 10. Comments and suggestions for future proms l ~ g, scheduling and improvement: Y aa.~h C~ •{tue a.~ ~ waS ; wrv~~.. •~:t. Wt art ~ L. ea 4t. Thank you for your input, participation and support. Please fold, stain stale a form to the address on the reverse side. p' p this Eagan Parks & Recreation Department City of Eagan Parks at Recreation Department Class Evaluation Form Summer 1997 CLASS NAME: Science Camp LOCATION: Class #775 - Trapp Farm Park (August 4 - 6) In order to better serve the participants in our recreation programs, we need to receive as much input from the participants as possible. Therefore, we would like to ask you to take a few minutes to answer the following questions and give us your suggestions. THANK YOU! Please answer the questions with more than a yes or no - for that answer does not indicate what we are doing right or wrong. 1. Organization of the class 2. Instructor's enthusiasm _ Well organized ZVery good Good organization - Generally good _ Usually organized - Mildly enthusiastic _ Little organization _ Occasional enthusiasm _ Poor organization - Bored 3. Did you child enjoy the program? ZYes -No 4. Did the class cover what you expected? Con" i w~'p ye~~T ' 5. Are you satisfied with the attention given your child? _I/ VVA _ I/ Se 6. What activities were enjoyed the most? &.V. p e>r i r & -t L* S 7. Was the time frame satisfactory for you and your child? -i-i W &S e_bLW ) r r U ' 8. What hours of the day would you prefer? 9. What days of the week would you prefer? 10. Comments and suggestions for future programming, scheduling and improvement: Thank you for your input, participation and support. Please fold, stamp, staple and mail this form to the address on the reverse side. Eagan Parks & Recreation Department City of Eagan Parks 8L Recreation Department Class Evaluation Form Summer 1997 ' CLASS NAME: Kids Kraft Camp LOCATION: Class #905 - Bridle Ridge Park (July 28-31) In order to better serve the participants in our recreation programs, we need to receive as much input from the participants as possible. Therefore, we would like to ask you to take a few minutes to answer the following questions and give us your suggestions. THANK YOU! Please answer the questions with more than a yes or no - for that answer does not indicate what we are doing right or wrong. 1. Org tion of the class 2. Intro is enthusiasm Well organized 4ery good _ Good organization - Generally good _ Usually organized Mildly enthusiastic - Little organization _ Occasional enthusiasm Poor organization Bored 3. Did you child enjoy the program? /yes No 4. Did the class cover what you expected? sc-rZ, 5. Are you satisfied with the attention given your child? U 1 6. W h a t activihi~s w e r e e n j o ed t h e most? VV-o__t c.~ -E- ~1 c 2 _ r- 7. Was the time frame satisfactory for you and your child? ''C ?~~c.. d`~r ~t~ ems. -4- L c\ 8. What hours of the day would you prefer? 'i 9. What days of the week would you prefer? ty\o~ - k / 10. Comments and suggestions for future programming, scheduling and improvement: Thank you for your input, participation and support. Please fold, stamp, staple and mail this form to the address on the reverse side. Eagan Parks & Recreation Department City of Eagan Parks at Recreation Department x Class Evaluation Form Summer 1997 CLASS NAME: Tiny Tots Recreational Activities LOCATION: Class #800 -Goat Hill Park In order to better serve the participants in our recreation programs, we need to receive as much input from the participants as possible. Therefore, we would like to ask you to take a few _ minutes to answer the following questions and give us your suggestions. THANK YOU! Please answer the questions with more than a yes or no - for that answer does not indicate what we are doing right or wrong. I . Organization of the class 2. Instructor's enthusiasm /Well organized 'Very good Good organization - Generally good Usually organized - Mildly enthusiastic Little organization _ Occasional enthusiasm _ Poor organization Bored 3. Did you child enjoy the program? L/rYes No 4. Did the class cover what you expected? S. Are you satisfied with the attenti n given yo chi d? ee., srr.? whir rflbSibs/'~tC't qw~ 6. What activities were enjoyed the most? c Wd;W*J %W 7. Was the time frame satisfactory for you and your child? Mkr, ? / . S. What hours of the day would you pre er? 30400 - //.•0, 0 c4 A 9. What days of the week would you prefer? ;2fdpZft &~-Z. ts;r~ r4 'ry"J 10. Comments and suggestions for "programming, schedulnlg and ' rovement: / AdE Thank you for your input, participation and sift Please fold, stamp, staple and mail this form to the address on the reverse side. Eagan Parks & Recreation Department