Visitor Expectations and Perceptions of Program and
Physical Accessibility in the National Park Service

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Overview

• Purpose of the Study
• Method
  - 5 selected national parks
  - Survey Questions
• Result Examples
• Suggestions

Purpose

• Identify the perceptions of people with disabilities relative to program and physical accessibility in national parks
• Survey individuals with disabilities on their input - "what makes an enjoyable park experience"
• Provide information for park managers relative the access in their park
• Decision-makers and managers of various national park units serve visitors with disabilities better and plan for future development

Methodology

• Develop the survey instrument
• On-site interviews
  - A comprehensive questionnaire with a postage-paid envelope
  - A second copy of the questionnaire with postage-paid envelope and a reminder postcard
• Work with local disability resource centers to recruit subjects for the study

Survey Questions

• the nature of the disability
• participants’ attitudes toward accessibility in the major park attractions
• participants’ opinions about the quality of the national park units, and questions about the participants’ perceptions of program accessibility in national parks
• their travel plans for the national park unit visit

Participants

• Adults (age 18 and older) who use
  - mobility devices, personal assistants, service animals, communication devices (TTY), or hearing aids
• Parents/caregiver of an individual with developmental disabilities
• Parents/caregivers of kids with disabilities
• Five National Park Units
  - The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  - The Blue Ridge Parkway
  - The Shenandoah National Park
  - The Mammoth Cave National Park
  - The Hot Springs National Park

Analysis

• Data Collection: during the summer to the fall of 2001
• Cross-tabulations and frequency distributions
• Participants’ comments from the open-ended responses

Types of Assistances and Devices

• The three most common devices used
  - manual wheelchairs (26%)
  - canes (25%)
  - power wheelchairs (25%)
• Others
  - personal assistants (22%)
  - walkers (22%)
  - hearing aids (10%)
  - crutches (8%)
  - scooters (9%)
  - communication devices (4%)
  - service animals (3%)

Example: Overall Satisfaction Regarding Accessibility in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• The mean overall satisfaction to the accessibility in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was (on a 1 to 7 scale, where 1 = very dissatisfied, 4 = neutral, and 7 = very satisfied)
  - 4.5 rated by all respondents,
  - 4.67 rated by visitors with physical disabilities,
  - 4.67 rated by visitors with hearing impairments, and
  - 2.5 rated by parents/caregivers of persons with developmental disabilities.

Example: Visitors’ Opinions of the Shenandoah National Park and its Physical Accessibility

• General Accessibility Elements
  - Lack of knowledgeable and/or helpful park staff regarding accessibility in the Park (3.93), and
  - Lack of accurate information on accessibility in the park (4.8) were rated by all participants
• Physical Accessibility Elements
  - lack of the width of doorway in restrooms (5.71)
  - lack of grab bars in restrooms (5.23)
  - lack of accessible trails (5.13)
  - lack of appropriate urinal height in restrooms (5)
  - lack of accessible restrooms (5.1)
  - lack of accessible drinking water (4.73)
  - narrow tread width of outdoor recreation access routes (4.54)

More Specific Physical Accessibility Element Examples

• In the case of the Blue Ridge Parkway, individuals with physical disabilities rated there was a problem for
  - lack of smooth surfaces around the picnic table (4.11)
  - lack of firm and stable seating space (4.11)
  - lack of appropriate ground slope around the picnic table (4)
  - lack of appropriate ground surfaces around the table (3.89)
  - lack of accessible route to the table (3.78), and lack of clear space for knees (3)

Travel Behaviors of Visitors with Disabilities

• Planning Time: Example - the Mammoth Cave National Park
  - Fifty-three of the Mammoth Cave National Park respondents made their trip decision to visit the park on the day of the trip.
  - Twenty six percent of respondents made their trip decision to visit the park less than 1 week in advance.
• Activity Engagement: Example – the Hot Spring National Park
  - visiting a scenic area (50%)
  - visiting a historical site (39%)
  - camping (33%)
  - fishing (28%)
  - visiting a museum (28%), and hiking (22%)

Summary

• More information collected from this study
  - What design problems exist with these elements?
  - What would have to change about the program and physical accessibility to make the park more accessible and enjoyable?
• Demographic Information: age, gender, income, occupation, and education level…
• Where, how, and with whom

Suggestions

• The implication of the pilot test
• The importance of further investigation
• The on-going project

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