Pavement treatment type influences visitor experiences related to vehicular road sound in Death Valley National Park

Bibliographic Data

ID21723993
AuthorsZachary D Miller (0000-0001-9909-1202, Utah State University, corresponding author), William L Rice (0000-0001-5725-486X, University of Montana), Peter Newman (0000-0002-0272-0250, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA), B Derrick Taff (0000-0001-9536-527X, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA), Jake Gottschalk (Utah State University), Caleb Meyer (Utah State University), J Adam Beeco (0000-0002-4233-7061, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA)
Year2021
Volume20
Issue3
Pages211-223
Publication date2021-07-03
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ecotourism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1472-4049 • E-ISSN: 1747-7638
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14724049.2020.1856856
OpenAlexW3117064600
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited25

In many parks and protected areas around the globe, reducing human-caused sounds is a critical component to providing quality visitor experiences. However, very little research examines the effect of vehicular road sounds on visitor experiences. Additionally, emerging pavement treatments have the potential to provide a new management tool for reducing impacts from vehicular road sounds. In this research, intercept surveys of visitors in Death Valley National Park and dose-response methods are used to identify the impacts of vehicular road sounds using normative concepts. The effects of different pavement treatments on visitor experiences are also evaluated. Results show that increasing vehicular road sounds have a negative impact on visitor experiences. Furthermore, Type II microsurfacing pavement treatments have a larger negative impact on visitor experiences than other pavement treatments. From this, managers of parks and protected areas can better understand the impacts of vehicle road sounds on visitor experiences, and possibly further reduce impacts through the use of pavement treatments

Civil engineering · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Globe · National park · Road surface · Tourism · Transport engineering · Visitor pattern · Computer Science · Engineering · Environmental Science · Noise Effects and Management · Psychology · Urban Green Space and Health · Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation

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Open DOIOpen Access