NYCkayaker Downtown Boathouse usage 2006
Graeme Birchall
Graeme_Birchall at verizon.net
Wed Oct 18 22:19:25 EDT 2006
Greetings;
The Downtown Boathouse runs a free public kayaking program in New York
City between mid-May and mid-October. Any adult who shows up, and who
knows how to swim, can go kayaking in the Hudson - in the embayment next
to one of the Boathouse docks. Children can also go kayaking, in a
double kayak with an adult.
The kayaks used are broad, slow, sit-on-top kayaks (mostly Drifters by
Ocean Kayak) so the kayaking experience is decidedly limited. But the
boats are safe, and stable, and easy to control, so very suitable for a
public kayaking program.
Every participant has to sign a waiver, which is good for the season.
At the end of the season the waivers are counted to get an estimate of
how many people went kayaking during the year. Below are the numbers
for 2006:
KAYAKING LOCATION SEASON DURATION WAIVERS %%%%
======================= =============== ======= ====
Pier 40, West Village Aug 10 – Oct 15 1,387 9%
Pier 96, Clinton Cove May 15 – Oct 15 5,920 37%
72nd St. Riverside Park May 15 – Oct 15 7,365 46%
Hoboken – Sinatra Park Five days 923 6%
Jersey City Reservoir Two days 244 2%
Riverbank Park pool Winter weekends 84 1%
Total 15,924 100%
For comparison, below are the numbers for prior years:
YEAR Pier26 Pier40 Pier66 Pier96 72ndSt Other TOTAL
==== ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== ===== ======
2006 - 1,387 - 5,920 7,365 1,252 15,924
2005 12,417 - - 735 8,945 856 22,953
2004 9,670 - 1,082 - 6,951 185 17,880
2003 8,666 - 995 - 3,829 103 13,480
2002 11,141 - 889 - - - 12,030
2001 10,200 - - - - - 10,200
2000 7,600 - - - - - 7,600
1999 6,700 - - - - - 6,700
1998 5,400 - - - - - 5,400
1997 2,800 - - - - - 2,800
1996 1,200 - - - - - 1,200
1995 100 - - - - - 100
Total => 116,267
Because of repeat visits, the total number of kayaks launched is more
than two times the number of waivers signed. Thus we have put on the
water more than quarter of a million kayakers since we started.
This is the first year during which the number of users has declined.
This is mainly because for most of the season we lacked a Downtown
location. Also, a lot of local residents had trouble finding our new
Pier 96 boathouse because we were not allowed to put any permanent
signage on the building or in the nearby park.
USAGE DEMOGRAPHICS
To get an admittedly very rough idea of where the kayakers using Pier 96
are coming from, approximately 600 randomly-chosen waivers were counted
by the address given on the waiver:
LOCATION KAYAKER FROM %Waivers
=========================== ========
NYC Manhattan above 42nd St 35%
NYC Manhattan below 42nd St 18%
NYC Brooklyn 15%
NYC Queens 9%
NYC Bronx 3%
NYC Staten Island 1%
Other NY State 3%
New Jersey 5%
Other USA 6%
Overseas 3%
Total 100%
Three nearby zip codes stood out in particular:
ZIPCODE %Kayakers Boundaries
======= ========= ==================================
10023 3% W60th to W76th * Central Park West
10019 11% W49th to W59th * 5th Avenue
10036 5% W41st to W48st * 5th Avenue
We can compare our user numbers to the population of these zip codes to
determine what fraction of the people in each locality went kayaking at
Pier 96 in 2006:
ZIPCODE POPULATION #KAYAKING %KAYAKING
======= ========== ========= =========
10023 62,206 224 0.4%
10019 36,012 430 1.2%
10036 18,751 92 0.5%
In the past we have got much high fractions of the local population out
on the water at our 72nd St location (i.e. up to 2.3% of the people
living in zip code 10023). The Pier 96 location is much harder to get
to, and has no signage, so it may take a few years for local residents
to find it. Right up until our closing day, we had nearby residents
coming in – surprised to see that we existed.
DOWNTOWN BOATHOUSE PROGRAMS
All of the Downtown Boathouse activities are free and open to anyone who
can swim. Below is a list of the programs offered:
WALK-UP EMBAYMENT KAYAKING: This is our main program. Adults can go
kayaking in the water next to the dock. Children can also go for a
paddle, in a double kayak with a suitable adult.
DEMO-DAY EMBAYMENT KAYAKING: This is the same as our main walk-up
kayaking program, except that we take some boats elsewhere for a day in
order to demonstrate the concept, and to encourage safe kayaking. This
year we ran demo-days in Hoboken, Jersey City, and on Staten Island.
WEDNESDAY EVENING CLASSES: Every Wednesday evening we run a public
class at our Pier 96 boathouse on a kayaking or a kayaking-related topic
(e.g. turning strokes, kayak safety, NYC harbor navigation).
WEEKEND MORNING TRIPS: On weekend and holiday mornings we run short
escorted tours out on the harbor proper.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS: On weekday days we run organized events at
our Pier 96 boathouse for local school groups and other non-profit
community organizations. The event almost always includes everybody who
wants to going out in a kayak.
WINTER POOL PROGRAM: On the weekends during the winter we run
introductory kayaking classes in the pool at Riverbank State Park.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
On behalf of the many thousands of people who went kayaking this past
season, I would like to thank the (hundreds of) volunteers that helped
out. Without them, none of this could have happened. Thanks again.
Happy and safe kayaking.
Graeme Birchall
Downtown Boathouse
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