What we’re doing / the experiment
MassTrails 10 is a short-run marketing and usability test to highlight ten signature trails in Massachusetts, with the intention of drawing attention to all shared-use paths in the Commonwealth.
The prototype is an attempt to uplift the recent investments in trail infrastructure in Massachusetts, while also showing the benefits of incorporating beautiful trail artwork into an easy-to-use website.
MassTrails 10 is a low-cost, lightweight way to “kick the tires” on whether there is value in this type of art-inspired, good user-experience tool for future trail amplification efforts.
Why we did this
There are almost 1000 miles of shared-use paths in Massachusetts. But many people aren’t aware of them, or don’t know about paths beyond their immediate neighborhood. It is also not obvious that many of these paths connect to each other and are part of a broader network.
Trails information currently lives in a lot of places and the trails themselves go by a lot of different names. There is no one-stop-shop that features an easy-to-use tool that encourages more people to get out and explore trails in Massachusetts. Exploring a new trail or taking a ride with friends or family can feel overwhelming to research. This curation approach is an attempt to lower the barriers to using the network.
What we’re hoping to learn
- Does an easy-to-use interface encourage more people to check out a trail?
- Does beautiful artwork increase interest in the trail network in Massachusetts?
- Does the creation of a “signature list” of trails serve as a gateway for people to want to explore more of the network?