A few days ago, I posted some info from the Wellington West BIA about how people get to their shops. The results were interesting to readers, including some city planners who contacted me on how to get the source info.
A reader sends me this quote: [and note that at this point the street had undergone but not totally finished three years of muck and mud and noise of reconstruction, including reconstructing the sidewalks][and note also that this is a survey of local area residents, not of all the people found on the street, as was the WWBIA survey, which will account for the very high walking modal split]
“The Preston Street BIA administered a survey during
the summer of 2010 in order to determine the role
of Preston Street in terms of meeting the needs of
the local community. The questions in the survey
probe several areas including: the transportation
mode used to access Preston Street, the reasons
people visit Preston Street, the visit frequency and
the level of adequateness for which Preston Street
merchants provide basic amenities. The survey also
includes a few open-ended questions that prompt
the survey participant to make suggestions for the
area as well as list reasons they frequent (or do not
frequent) Preston Street. A total of 234 participants
completed the survey.
The results from the transportation-related
questions lead to some clear conclusions. Most
users of Preston Street – 81% of the survey
participants – get there by foot. Furthermore, 82%
of participants thought that walking serves them
“very well” on Preston Street. Cycling results were
also quite positive; 58% of respondents for whom
the question applies feel that cycling serves them
“very well”. Users who access Preston Street by car
are less satisfied. Many participants expressed that
parking provision is insufficient. Although 77% of
the survey participants own a car, only 37% ever
drive to Preston Street.”