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MRT/TN
Ground Truthing Project
 The
goal of the MRT is to reveal to bicyclists
the beauty of the Mississippi River
from beginning to end. When it comes
to riding the MRT in Tennessee, most
local riders are familiar with the
section of the MRT that runs from
Memphis (Mud Island) to Shelby Meeman
State Park; however, that portion
of the trail represents roughly a
tenth of the trail's 200 mile length
through Tennessee and about 1% of
the MRT's overall 2000 mile length.
No
matter how many miles of the MRT a
rider chooses to ride, trail related
reference info that identifies the
route's alignment, condition and the
location of cycling amenities is always
useful. Particularly in the case of
a trail as long as the MRT, the only
way to compile such a database, keep
it current and learn which improvements
riders desire is with their feedback.
For these reasons, the MRT is conducting
a ground truthing project whereby
volunteers ride the trail and submit
their comments.
A
Synopsis Of The Ground Truthing Project
The ground truthing project calls
on local bicyclists to "adopt"
to ride & comment upon a segment
of the Trail. The MRT in TN has been
apportioned into 10 mile segments
with a map
that is available online. Anyone
can volunteer to participate in the
ground truthing project.
Ground
truthing volunteers can adopt as many
trail segments as they wish to ride
and multiple volunteers can ground
truth the same segment. Volunteers
are asked to use a survey
questionnaire (available online)
so comments can be collected and published
in a timely manner.
To
volunteer to ground truth the Mississippi
River Trail in Tennessee through Friday,
March 31, 2006, call the Mid-South
contact for the MRT (Larry Lagarde/901-722-5809).
After March, volunteers will be provided
with a means to sign-up online.
Ground
Truthing Project Objectives &
Desired Outcomes
1. Allow bicyclists to voice their
opinions about the MRT in Tennessee.
2. Build a detailed database of the
present condition of the MRT in Tennessee.
3. Build a detailed database of bicycling
related amenities along the MRT in
Tennessee.
4. Build a detailed database of tourist
attractions along the MRT in Tennessee.
5. Identify sections of the MRT in
Tennessee that bicyclists deem hazardous.
6. Identify alternate alignments for
the MRT in Tennessee.
7. Make the MRT in Tennessee more
appealing to all bicyclists.
8. Increase ridership on the MRT in
Tennessee.
9. Increase awareness of local residents
of the MRT in Tennessee.
10. Increase local support of the
MRT in Tennessee.
11. Build a database of local supporters
of the MRT in Tennessee.
12. Provide a means for ground truthing
to continue on an ongoing basis.
13. Provide a means for up to date
ground truthing reports to be available
at all times.
14. Create a system that can be replicated
to produce all of the above results
for other states served by the MRT.
Ultimately,
the MRT plants to post the results
of ground truthing volunteers online,
updating segment info on a regular
basis as new survey results are received,
providing riders with the most up
to date info possible.
Respectfully,
Larry Lagarde
Mid-South Coordinator
Mississippi River Trail
Ph: 901-722-5809
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