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National Trails Surface Study seeks best materials

National Trails Surface Study is being conducted by the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University.

From the Fall 2005 issue of Trail Tracks, the magazine of American Trails

	Achieving a firm and stable surface is a challenge for accessibility

For years we have been seeking to improve trail surfaces. The goal is to provide an unobtrusive surface that blends with and is friendly to the environment; and provides a quality trail experience for people with and without disabilities.

The National Trails Surface Study is being conducted by the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University, which promotes the full inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation, and tourism.

Since 1992, NCA has conducted training, provided technical assistance and conducted research to increase awareness and promote inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of recreation.

In the past, studies that have looked at alternatives to asphalt and concrete for making trails accessible to people with disabilities. Most notably, the USDA Forest Service and the Federal Highway Administration haves for years been conducting research on various products as possible uses for trail stabilization.

The proposed longitudinal (3-5 years) study on various trail surface applications will include diverse geographic zones where controlled testing, monitoring, and research protocols can be followed. Research questions that need to be addressed include:

• what surfaces are accessible?
• what are the costs of various trail surface applications?
• under what climactic conditions are various surface applications accessible?
• in what geographic areas and for how long are various trail surface applications accessible?
• what are the maintenance considerations?
• what is the impact of various soil characteristics, e.g. moisture, soil composition, etc.
• do various soil applications interact positively, neutrally, or negatively?
• what impacts do various slope and cross slope grades have on various surface applications?

The selection for sites to participate in the NCA National Trails Surface Study is underway. Site selection will continue until the minimum number of stabilized trail segments by product type is achieved.

For more information about the NCA National Trails Surface Study, visit: ncaonline.org/trails/research/. NCA is developing a specific application form that will soon be available on the website. Contact for the study is Gary Robb, Executive Director, National Center on Accessibility at (812) 856-4422 or grobb@indiana.edu.

November, 2005

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