TRAVERSE CITY (May 6, 2002) - Who are the faces of Traverse Area Recreation & Transportation (TART) Trails? TART Trails and a dedicated group of volunteers will soon find out.

Survey volunteers are being stationed along the Leelanau Trail, TART Trail and the Vasa Pathway from May until September and will log over 400 hours collecting data and interviewing trail users to complete a brief survey.

"Getting to know our users has been a TART goal for some time now, and the survey is a wonderful tool to do that," said survey volunteer June Thaden, who is a member of the TART Board of Directors. "TART will be gaining 420 hours of valuable one-on-one time with our trail users," said Thaden, who added that the survey encourages users to express their concerns and suggestions for future work on the trail system.

Michigan State University recently completed an extensive landmark study on the economic, health, environmental and community benefits of the Pere Marquette Rail Trail in Midland County. "The most astonishing data that came out of the study was that residents of Midland County rank the trail as the number one asset to the community, ranking above schools and police and fire services," said Christine Vogt, the MSU professor who headed up the Pere Marquette study. TART is collaborating with MSU's Park, Recreation and Tourism Resources Department for survey design and implementation process.

TART's user survey is designed to distinguish user groups; assess trail usage, safety and accessibility; identify the economic impact of trail users; and provide a comfortable means for user input. The survey will also determine how extensively certain segments of the TART Trail system are used and the overall functionality of the existing trail system. For example, volunteers will be collecting data on how many people drive to the trail as opposed to using non-motorized transportation.

TART also hopes to determine the number of users who use the 2,000-foot connection between the TART Trail and the Leelanau Trail, where users must travel along busy M-22. Bob Otwell, Executive Director of TART Trails, has been working to secure easements to connect the two trails. "Currently there are 17 curb cuts along the M-22 connector, which is also a high traffic area, and we're hopeful that the survey will point out that the current connection between the two trails is unsafe and unacceptable. We're optimistic that the survey findings will be another tool that will lead to a safer connector between the two trails," Otwell said.

Anyone interested in being a survey volunteer can contact Missy Luyk at the TART Trails office. The phone number is 941-4300.