Parklife: The Outdoor People/Cycle Vehicle Counting Company

Never accept an invitation for coffee with a client with an ulterior motive. If you do, avoid asking outright what they want, as you might be pressured into delivering exactly that, even if you protested at the time. I've never been particularly good at the sales game—too much dodging and weaving for my liking. So, I committed the cardinal sin and asked, "What do you want?". In short, the response was: "cheaper, smaller, and something my rangers can install themselves wherever they need.". Let's analyze the requirements: - Cheaper: Or, for the more sensitive amongst you, "better priced." This is easier said than done, but with some bulk buying and larger batch production on our part, we made it happen. Smaller: Our units have always been compact, but the challenge was to make them even smaller—less noticeable when mounted on railings or a 4-inch post. We achieved that too. Self-installation: The Counter has always been installable by the end user, but the instructions were lacking. Not anymore. So here we have it: the Parklife-mini people counter. Want to know a little more: info@parklifemonitoring.com or jfarrell@parklifemonitoring.com

Mountain biking, or as we more seasoned folks like to call it, off-roading, has taken many of us by surprise—especially those who manage trails and tracks. With the surge in popularity, we've noticed a fair bit of conflict between riders and walkers on shared trails. Over the past year, there's been a more than 200% increase in monitoring on MTB tracks, with shared trails also seeing a similar rise in monitoring for both cyclists and walkers. Understanding how frequently these trails are used, and when, has become crucial in planning any future adjustments . For example, we recently installed a multi-counter on a trail that was previously designated for walkers only but has since been opened to mountain bikers. Within the first month of monitoring, walker traffic dropped by 70%, while mountain biking only accounted for a 30% increase. As one client put it, it’s a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul! 😊 This shift occurred right at the start of the school holidays, a particularly busy time. If you’re interested in monitoring your MTB or shared trails, we can help. Our counters are easy to install and don’t require any digging—they simply attach to existing posts or furniture. www.parklifemonitoring.com jfarrell@parklifemonitoring.com

Just Saying: knowledge can be a powerful tool

Is cost the primary reason you're not keeping track of how many people or bicycles use your trails and paths? We were curious, so we enlisted a group of students to help us out. At first, it felt a bit chaotic, like trying to herd cats, with each student wanting to do things “my way,” as Frank Sinatra would say. However, after a few encouraging words and a promise to top up their mobile phone credits, we got started! 😊 Just to clarify, we reached out to 140 locations (not the largest sample, but certainly more than those shampoo commercials on TV) which included a mix of woodlands, wildlife trusts, National Trust sites, and local councils. We managed to connect with 106 of them in total. We asked a few straightforward questions, leading to some fascinating discussions, some were quite helpful, while others had a more political angle. 😊 The first question was simple: Do you monitor the number of visitors to your woodlands, parks, and play areas? If they answered YES, we followed up by asking how they use that data. If they said NO, we inquired why not and if they would like to. About 80% (give or take) indicated they do or have previously counted visitors, but usually only at one or two sites. This was mainly due to budget constraints and the manual nature of data collection, which caused the interest or ability to fade over time. The second question was: Would you like to monitor visitor numbers at specific locations? Only 4 respondents said they weren’t interested in measuring anything; the majority were enthusiastic and suggested various areas, including new cycle paths, woodland trails, open play spaces, town streets, and even public restrooms. The third question was about what barriers they faced. The most common responses were cost and uncertainty about how to utilize the data—no surprises there. What did catch me off guard was when I asked them to estimate the cost of a monitoring system; the figures ranged from £1,000 to £3,000. That’s quite a spread, but still, it seems excessive. Reality is much lower, and these days, for well below the lowest figure quoted, you should be getting a People and Cycle combined counter, installed and reporting back daily figures to an online reporting portal. If you would like to know more about our snapshot survey or what we do; please reach out  to info@parklifemonitoring.com National Trust National Parks Partnerships Forestry England Forestry Commission Jason Farrell

Only when you know, you know!

Knowing the number of users, & when they use the walking or cycling trails you are responcible for, is not just a nice-to-have. The problem historically is that counters have been expensive to install and in most cases come with inconvenient data access and collection methods. Our solutions are not: either expensive or difficult to access data. Over 98% of our installs send data daily, directly to our servers where you can access your reports as and when you want. Let’s have a chat: All the best Jason info@parklifemonitoring.com   jfarrell@parklifemonitoring.com #peoplecounting #cyclecounting www.parklifemonitoring.com Jason Farrell Forestry Commission Forestry England National Trust

Is it summer yet? Well last week was a mixed bag of people, vehicle & cycle counter installs; possibly our busiest week, but certainly the most varied, well in terms of weather it was. One moment the team are cowering under their rain coats the next stripping down to tee shirts, either way it’s a life we have chosen 😊. www.parklifemonitoring.com National Trust Forestry England The Woodland Trust The Wildlife Trusts

Parklife is happy to announce our participation in the National Trails UK Summit on the 16th of May at the Leonardo Hotel In Cheltenham. This inaugural National Trails Summit will celebrate and reflect on 75 years of access to the countryside and the vital role our national trails play in connecting people to nature and promoting health in body and mind. If you haven’t signed up, I’m sure it’s not too late. https://lnkd.in/eEQFQS4j Jason Farrell National Trust National Trails UK Forestry England Forestry Commission