Differences among hikers, runners and mountain bikers in a peri-urban park

Conflict can occur when people engage in different recreational activities on the same trails within parks. But which activities create conflict, and why do some visitors have issues with some users but not others? Peri-urban parks provide a good model to investigate these issues. Such parks often have high visitation due to their proximity to rapidly growing urban areas, and the increasing demand for outdoor recreation that this growth generates (Arnberger and Brandenburg, 2007). Popular activities in such parks include: walking, bird watching, mountain biking, horse riding and running. These activities typically occur on multiple use trails, where conflict among visitors can arise, especially during periods of peak usage (Arnberger and Haider, 2005). Managers of multiple use trails often have to cope with multiple types of user conflict (Bury et al., 1983) that can diminish visitor satisfaction (Moore, 1994). While researchers in the United States have examined conflict on multiple use trails in various types of parks, limited research has occurred elsewhere, despite the growing popularity of outdoor recreation in many countries, including Australia. This study assesses park-user interactions within a periurban park in South East Queensland, the fastest growing metropolitan area in Australia.