day1 keynote daffyd_davis

RECREATIONAL TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGN

Strategic Trail Planning and Design

Dafydd Davis

© Trails by Dafydd Davis


Why develop trails?

• Improving access to the countryside

• Improving quality of life

• Creating assets for communities

• Creating tourism products

• Creating opportunities for active recreation

• Managing recreation

• Managing liability

• Managing conflict

STRATEGIC TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGN



What are the risks of developing trails?

• Increased liability• Increased business risk• Increased management costs• increased maintenance costs• Conflict • Negative impact




Minimising the risks

• Ensure best practice in planning, designing and building trails

• Ensure best practice in management and maintenance

• Ensure trails meet needs/expectations of market

• Ensure trails meet needs/expectations of managers/stakeholders

• Ensure trails are an asset not a liability




What makes a trail a liability?

• Intensive management

• Intensive maintenance

• Ongoing expenditure

• Bad experience for users

• If it devalues places




What makes a trail an asset?

• Meet needs/expectations of landowners/managers and stakeholders

• Meet needs/expectations of intended market

• Minimise or manage key issues



RECREATIONAL TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGNSTRATEGIC TRAIL PLANNING AND DESIGN

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES?

• Sustainability

• Liability

• Maintenance and management

Sustainable trails manage liability and minimise maintenance and management requirements



What are sustainable trails

• Trails that do not impact negatively on land use

• Trails that do not have negative physical or visual impact

• Trails that resolve, not create management issues

• Trails that resolve, not create maintenance issues

• Trails that have longevity

• Trails that add value

• Trails that do not devalue

• Trail that are an asset



Sustainable trails should not impact negatively on land use and land use should not impact negatively on trails

• Forestry

• Agriculture

• Industry

• Recreation

• Water

• Conservation

Trails should be planned and designed to work around land use



Low impact trails can add value to landscapes – high impact rails devalue landscapes and create management and maintenance issues

• Erosion, runoff, pollution

• Scaring

• Environmental degradation

• Poor experience for trail users

• Safety and liability



Management - sustainable trails should

• Help manage Interface between trail users and land use

• Help manage the safety of trail users

• Help manage the impact of trail users on trails

• Help manage the impact of trail users on the environment

• Manage how trails are used and by whom

• Manage business risk

• Manage liability

• Manage expenditure

Sustainable trails address these issues and do not exacerbate them




DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE TRAILS


• Develop a clear frame of reference

• Carry out strategic trail planning

• Carry out careful and detailed trail design

• Ensure effective consultation

• Develop prescriptive trail construction plans

• Apply rigorous trail construction and maintenance standards

• Put the right trails in the right places © Trails by Dafydd Davis


• Scope and scale

• Objectives

• Market

• Product

• Standards

• Delivery

• Management

• Budget

FRAMES OF REFERENCE




FRAMES OF REFERENCE

SCOPE AND SCALE

• How big or how small

• Local, regional or national

• How many sites or potential sites



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

OBJECTIVES

• Managing existing use

• Meeting existing demand

• Minimising or reducing business risk

• Creating a tourism asset

• Business opportunity

• Benefiting communities



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

MARKETS

• Who are the trails for (users groups, segments etc)

• Single use

• Multi use

• Local, regional or national markets

• Social trails or commercial facility



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

PRODUCT

• What kind of trails

• Linked to markets and objectives

• Social trails or commercial facility



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

STANDARDS

• Planning standards

• Design standards

• Construction standards

• All standards should be clear and serve as benchmark

• Standards should be applied consistently



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

DELIVERY

• Who

• How

• Contractors

• Volunteers

• Roles

• Responsibilities

• Tasks



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

MANAGEMENT

• Who will manage the project

• Who will manage the trails

• How will the trails be managed

• Where will resources come from

• Income recovery?



FRAMES OF REFERENCE

BUDGET

• How big

• How small

• Where is it coming from

• Are there strings attached

• Is it realistic

• Does it fit with objectives

• Does it fit with size and scope



WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T ….

HAVE A CLEAR FRAME OF REFERENCE

• Size and scope can be inappropriate

• Objectives can be missed

• Inappropriate products

• Inappropriate sites

• Costs can spiral

• Increased management and maintenance costs

• Developments can create more problems that they solve




The planning, design and construction process

• Site assessment

• Consultation

• Concept plan development

• Consultation

• Prescriptive plan development

• Consultation


All should be carried out in the context of the frame of reference © Trails by Dafydd Davis


SITE SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT

• Sites should be assessed against clear criteria

• Criteria established in consultation with partners

• Frame of reference help set criteria

• Get the right trails in the right place



CONCEPT PLAN DEVELOPMENT• Identifies trailheads

• Identifies potential corridors

• Assesses corridors

• Detailed consultation document

• Can be chopped and changed (up to a point)

• Consultation


All should be carried out in the context of the frame of reference © Trails by Dafydd Davis


CONCEPT PLAN DEVELOPMENT


Corridor Evaluation • Identifies purpose of corridor• Strategic value of the corridor• Ground conditions• Topography• Constraints• Potential trail management issues• Potential construction methods• Mitigation measures • Outline costs• Formal consultation



PRESCRIPTIVE PLANS

• Follows approval of concept plans and corridors

• Each component of construction

• Prescribes standards

• Accurate costing

• Gives a framework for tendering

• Provides one final tier of consultation

• Control and monitoring measures

• Provides evidence of best practice




PRESCRIPTIVE PLANS

• Defines exact line of trail on the ground • Detailed plotting of trail on the ground within agreed corridor• Working within constraints• Working to principles of sustainable trail construction



TRAIL CONSTRUCTION

All trail design and planning should be carried out in the context of the frame of reference and the highest trail construction standards

Construction specifications and standards must be agreed when developing frame of reference

Standards must be consistently applied



TRAIL CONSTRUCTION

Prescriptive plans provide clear standards

Prescriptive plans essential in the application of standards

Contracts/agreements must be tied in to prescriptive plans

Delivery method has to be set by frame of reference



IN CLONCLUSION

• Develop a clear frame of reference • Be very clear about what you want to achieve • Treat frame of reference as your ‘Bible’ • Have robust effective planning systems• Set clear standards of design and construction • Planning, planning, planning • Consultation, consultation, consultation



IN CLONCLUSION

What if you don’t?• Increased risks • Higher development costs • Higher management cots• Higher maintenance costs • Wrong trails in the wrong places



IN CLONCLUSION

What if you do?• Reduced risk • Better use of resources and/or budgets • Right trails in the right places• Sustainable trails


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