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Using transportation networks to inform valuation of water quality changes for saltwater recreation on Cape Cod, MA
Citation:
Bousquin, J., N. Merrill, AND M. Mazzotta. Using transportation networks to inform valuation of water quality changes for saltwater recreation on Cape Cod, MA. Northeast Arc User Group Fall Conference, North Falmouth, MA, October 16 - 19, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
We are currently developing a model to evaluate the benefits of different levels of water quality improvements to saltwater recreation based on visitation data and beach characteristics. An important part of that model is the time required for potential recreation participants to get to different beaches. This presentation will describe different ways to estimate travel times and the advantages/disadvantages for our particular application.
Description:
Estimating the non-market value of beaches for saltwater recreation is complex. An individual’s preference for a beach depends on beach characteristics and perception. When choosing one beach over another, an individual balances these personal preferences with any additional costs, in travel time and/or fees to access the beach. This trade-off can be used to infer how people value different beach characteristics and evaluate changes in beach characteristics, such as water quality. Especially when beaches are free to the public, beach value estimates rely heavily on accurate travel times.Our goal is to evaluate the benefits of different levels of water quality improvements to saltwater recreation on Cape Cod. Observed visitation data and beach characteristics will be used to construct a model for how much people prefer different beach characteristics, including water quality and travel time. On Cape Cod, saltwater beach recreation participants include both local residents and those making seasonal day trips from other parts of the region, making the scale of analysis large and transportation congestion significant. We will describe several of the transportation networks and route services available and compare a few based on their ability to meet our specific requirements of scale and seasonal travel time accuracy.