Background/Purpose Multi-use trails can contribute to mobility and access, social equity, the environment and ultimately the quality of life in a community (Shafer, Lee, & Turner, 2000). A study has found that community trails facilitate physical activity, and frequent trail use is significantly related to an activity-friendly neighborhood. Furthermore, physical activity brings benefits to trial users that enhance their quality of life and psychological well-being (Librett et al., 2006). The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent demographic characteristics and per visit time duration on the trail affects the trail users' quality of life (QOL) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Method The participants (n=134) in this study were intercepted at the three major trail entrances during September and October of 2009. Participants were asked to complete two questionnaires: the Clear Creek Trail User Survey (Eppley Institute, 2007) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life, Brief Version or the WHOQOL-BREF (Bonomi & Patrick, 1997).
Analysis/Results Trail users' demographic characteristics and the time they spent on the trail were the main independent variables in this study. The data were analyzed using the Pearson r test, and no significant differences were found between length of use and the physical capacity (r=.05, p=.57), psychology (r=-.10, p=.28), or environment domains (r=.05, p=.60). However, there was a negative relationship between length of time users spent on the trail and their social relation (r=-.18, p=.05).
Conclusions These results indicated that the more time people spend on the trail, the less satisfied they feel with their quality of life.