Fremantle Leisure Centre Travel Stats (1)

Gavin Giles
City of Fremantle
89

In April this year the team at the Fremantle Leisure Centre (FLC) undertook it’s customer satisfaction survey. The survey includes a question on how people were travelling to the FLC, to understand travel behaviour, inform future development and travel demand planning. Travel patterns have been relatively stable since surveys began 2001.
This year, there were 540 surveys completed. Most people drive to the FLC at 80%, but with a number of people riding (8%) or walking (10%). There has been a slight decrease in driving since the 2019 survey and slight increase in walking and cycling.

Investigation into the survey results found several factors that would influence travel choice for visitors.
Time of day – squad training is very early in the morning, when there is limited public transport availability, along with hours of darkness at different times of the year which would contribute to the high level of car travel. Using the FLC before and after school and work (peak am and pm use times) also contributes to a higher level of car use as people used the car for more convenience for multiple trip-chaining.
There was an even split between people visiting alone or with others – family, friends, partner etc. This would influence travel mode, with people visiting the FLC together would likely mean traveling in a car. Young children using the FLC could also to the high level of car use with 28% of visiting the being 5 years or under.
When people were asked how far they were travelling, most were within 5km or less. This statistic indicates there could be improvements to encourage greater take up of active transport modes, particularly cycling. This could also help free car parking spaces for the people who have no choice but to drive.
In addition to bike parking at the entrance, the FLC installed a ‘bike corral’ inside the centre so that people had the option to bring their bikes in for added security. The survey included positive comments on this, and people felt their bikes were more secure, particularly e-bikes. The FLC is now working on increasing the functionality of the corral by installing racks for added security. This will be monitored to see if bike parking and use increases.

This story is related to Travel Survey (1)

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James (Your Move)

Hi Gav. Thanks for sharing the results of your leisure centre travel survey. Looking at the bar charts the proportion of bike/walk trips is the best since about 2011 - so that is good news! It is also interesting to see that around 2011 and 2013 public transport trips seemed to be much more significant - was there a change in the system after 2013? Or perhaps the survey methodology was a bit different. Great to see your bike 'corral' too! That would be encouraging for people with high value bikes - and I imagine this will only improve with some sturdy places to lock the bikes within the corral. You have earned 50 points for your survey plus a 20 point bonus for your detailed and informative discussion. Have a great week 😎!

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