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Oskaloosa Square Time Use Study
- 1. Oskaloosa Square TimeUse Study Intro Oskaloosa has a beautiful and historic downtown that houses the Oskaloosa Bandstand, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bandstand sits in the center of town on a beautiful square that should be a draw for considerable foot traffic. This foot traffic is essential for businesses to thrive in the downtown district and promoting the square as a prominent destination within the community. With this study we can better understand the current usage of the town square at different times during the day. This data can then be used to inform business owners in the downtown and to support potential future projects that may involve physical changes to the square. Methodology The study tookplace duringthe monthof June because of the highprobabilityof foottrafficdue tothe typical weather,school outof session,andplannedeventsdowntown. Typical hoursof usingthe square will be definedas7 AMto 9 PM. Out of the 420 typical hoursof use duringthe monthof June,five percentwill be deemedsufficientforaccurate data.The time periodsselectedforobservationwere chosenbya randomnumbergeneratorwiththe followingconditionsinplace: o Each of the fourteenone-hourperiodsinadaywill be surveyedatleastonce. o No one-hourtime periodduringadaywill be surveyedmore thantwice. o Each day of the weekwill be surveyedatleasttwice. o No dayof the weekwill be surveyedmore thanfourtimes. o No dayof the weekwill be surveyedmore thanonce forthe same one-hourperiod. The keyto the surveywasto recordpeople whowere usingthe square asa place to be rather than recordingpeople justwalkingthrough.The surveyorsatona benchnearthe edge of the square to gain an advantageousviewof the square toobserve as muchof the square as possible,movingwhen necessarytoensure all activitywasobservedandrecorded. Duringextremelybusytimesonthe square where the surveyorcouldnotaccuratelytallyeveryindividual usingit,he estimatedthe total numberof people duringthe peakof the hour.Data was onlycollectedduring“pleasant”weatherconditions. “Pleasant”wasconsidered:temperaturesabove 60degrees,noprecipitation,andnoseverweather watches/warnings.Inthe eventof inclementweather,orotherimpractical surveyingcircumstances,the surveywasconductedonthe followingweekduringthe same time andonthe same day of the week. Observations The square saw a total of 262 usersduringthe monthof June whichdoesn’tinclude the TimTimmons concert (872 includingthe TimTimmonsconcert).Forthe sake of uninflatednumbers,all results reportedwill excludethe TimTimmonsconcertunlessotherwise stated. The average numberof square usersperday is13 people,withthe majorityof usersbeingadultsaveragingnineusersperday.
- 2. Days of theWeek Time Periods Adults Adultsdominatedsquare usage withmore thandouble the total amountof childrenandteenagers combined at185 adultsforthe monthof June.The average numberof adultsusingthe square perday tellsthe same story withmore than double the amountof adultsusingthe square ascomparedto childrenandteenagerscombinedatnine adultsperday. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Day of the Week AverageUsers Average of Children Average of Teenagers Average of Adults Average of Total 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 morning midday afternoon evening Time Period Average Users Average of Children Average of Teenagers Average of Adults Average of Total
- 3. Teenagers Teenagerswere the leastrepresentedgrouponthesquare withanaverage of 1.5 usersa day withno activityinthe morningsor onMondays Children Childrenwere commonlyaccompaniedbyadultsandaveragedtwousersperday.For everyfouradults usingthe square,there wasan adultaccompanied bya child. Activities The most commonactivitybyfar was people sittingonbenches.Almosteveryhourobservedsaw at leastone personusingthe parkbenchesinthe square.The twoothermost commonlyperformed activitieswere playing/sittingonthe Bandstandandwalkingadog. Othervariousactivitiesinclude readingonthe grass, parkour,karate,catch, and photography. Outliers Resultsfromthe time use studyare predictable andwere slightlyexpected.However,there were two blocksof time that hostedeventsthatslightlyskeweredthe data,one of whichwasn’tincludedbecause of the dramaticeffectithad onthe results.The firstwasan hourtime blockbefore the Oskaloosa Municipal Bandwas scheduledtoplay.Thisisa large communityeventthat happenseveryThursday duringthe summer.While there wasaheightenedamountof activitydue towaitingforthe bandto start playingitwasn’tlarge enoughtodramaticallyinflatethe data,butcan be seeninthe graphs. The second,largereventwasthe TimTimmonsconcert.Thiswas a widelyadvertisedandattendedevent that housedmore people thanthe entire studycombined.Over600 people attendedthiseventrivaling onlySweetCornSerenade.Forthisreason,the TimTimmonsconcertwasomittedfromthe resultsbut showsthat the square can be an attractive draw forfoot trafficwheneventsare housedonit. Conclusions The square is an underusedassettothe Oskaloosacommunitywithlessthan0.03 percentof the populationof Oskaloosautilizingit.The square,while beautiful andhistoric,hasnodraw forseriousfoot trafficunlessithostseventssuchasthe Tim Timmonsconcertand SweetCornSerenade whichdraw hundredsif notthousandsof people.Youngerpeopledon’tflocktothe square because of the limited amountof activitiesavailable andthe constantroar of diesel enginesdetractsparentsfrombringing theirchildrentothe square until the traffichassubsidedinthe evening.Adultscontinuallyuse the square but onlyforleisurelyactivitiessuchasdrinkingcoffee onabenchor takingtheirdogfor a walk; but the amountof adultsusingitisstill farlessthanexpectedwithapopulationof over11,000 residents.