Trails, sidewalks, walking, biking in Jones County

   In August, ECICOG shared the results of their Active Transportation Plan (ATP) survey they conducted.

   They had over 400 respondents, including those living in Jones County.

   Conservation Director Brad Mormann shared some of the results during the recent ribbon-cutting for the completion of the Wapsipinicon Trail in Anamosa. I wanted to take a deeper dive…

   The goal of the ATP survey included the following:

   • To ascertain residents' biking and walking behavior

   • To explore destination options

   • To ascertain the viability of a regional trail connection

   Fifty percent of the Jones County survey respondents have either owned a home for two to five years, or, on the other end of the spectrum, owned their home for over 20 years. Of all of those homeowners, they said "more local trails and a connection to regional trails" is the key to becoming a destination.

   Within the overall ECICOG survey, the highest share of responses (29 percent) were born between 1981-90. Four percent of respondents were over 70 years of age.

   Sixty-five percent of respondents earn more than $80,000 in terms of annual total household income. (A note within the survey said it would be rather interesting to explore the relationship between biking, walking, and income earnings.)

   Of all the respondents, more than a quarter walk on a daily basis.

   Among the Jones County respondents, 96 percent walk for exercise and recreation. An interesting figure from the survey, 42 percent of Jones County residents said they would use a paved recreational trail network for bicycle tourism if one existed in the ECICOG region.

   There were several reasons locals offered as to why they bike or walk:

   • Health benefits, 70 percent

   • Recreation, 27 percent

   • Environmental benefits, 2 percent

   • Economic benefits, 1 percent

   Locals said they would walk more often if…

   • There were more trails, 86 percent

   • There were improved sidewalks, 43 percent

   • There were more regional trail connections, 42 percent

   • There were improved pedestrian crossings, 21 percent

   The top two reasons Jones County people said they would bicycle more if…

   • There were more regional trail connections, 56 percent

   • There were more separate bike and vehicle lanes, 53 percent

   Residents typically bike between 2 and 10 miles during seasonable weather.

   In rating the sidewalk conditions throughout Jones County communities, 49 percent said their town's sidewalks were in fair condition, 27 percent said poor condition, 19 percent said good, 3 percent said no condition available, and 1.8 percent said excellent.

   So what does all of this mean and why is it important? I know of people who travel outside of Jones County to bike on trails, longer trails than exist in Jones County. If they're leaving Jones County, they're also spending money in those other communities and counties.

   Clearly a walkable community is enticing to many of these survey respondents. How are the sidewalks in your neighborhood? Is there adequate sidewalks for people to walk versus using the street?

   Both Monticello and Anamosa have active trails/trail projects. Think of the future… Wouldn't it be attractive to have a countywide trail?