WALKING AND CYCLING BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA OF PUBLIC PARKS

Abstract

Public parks provide a variety of benefits and opportunities for community. This paper reports the investigation on the behavior of park users in Saga city, Japan using a new recreational valuation method and Voronoi diagram to redefine service area of park. The valuation was performed through comparison of walking, cycling and car mode. Different threshold distances based on rational choice approach was derived to understand behavior of walking and cycling users that their characteristics and socioeconomic cou3ld affect different patterns of park utilization. This information reflects the need to improve accessibility and facility for walkers and cyclists according to the community need since approximately 70 percent of parks users are the frequent users. This valuable approach could be utilized to guide local planning agency to locate suitable plan for current and future policy for accessibility of public park service improvement for livable city.