Charting a trail in the dark: searching for evidence in the public interest design process

Abstract

The City of Manhattan, Kansas (“the City”) is planning a landscape improvement project for a 0.3-mile portion of one of its non-vehicular rights-of-way (“the Trail”). The focus of the City’s project is to resolve safety issues that have arisen due to a lack of nighttime lighting. While the City’s plan is to implement lighting, this plan would not comprehensively address the Trail users’ and stakeholders’ needs. This study asks, “What design alternatives can be generated to address lighting, safety, and other user and stakeholder concerns for the Trail?” This study employs a literature review, a site inventory and analysis, and a pair of surveys to facilitate the synthesis of a series of design alternatives. The literature review analyzes urban design theory and environmental psychology research to develop a series of design considerations. The site inventory and analysis documents the Trail’s existing conditions through photography, drafting, inventory, observation, and dérive. User and stakeholder surveys were also conducted to gauge existing usage patterns and perceptions of the Trail. From the findings of these methods, a series of environmental designs were developed which respond to users’ experience and stakeholders’ needs as they use and consider the Trail. These designs range on a spectrum of intervention from “minimal” to “high.” It was determined that there are two key regions of the Trail which need immediate attention: an area of thick overgrowth (“the Tunnel”) and an area of ponding and erosion (“the Low Water Crossing”). Additional design considerations were also revealed and addressed by the design alternatives. These designs where then presented to a group of stakeholders who determined that rather than implementing one intervention level, a phasing strategy to implement all intervention levels would be of particular interest. This study also reveals the potential need for a future study about the Trail which would allow stakeholders to analyze the effects of specific, constructed design interventions.