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Beneficial Designs seeks Trails Project Coordinator

Beneficial Designs is searching for someone to fill the trails coordinator position on 1 October 2006. Peter Axelson of Beneficial Designs pioneered the Universal Trails Assessment Process in the 1990's and the company is intimately involved in the accessibility of trails and other outdoor recreation areas. We are searching for someone who works well with people, is detail-oriented, organized, and good at multi-tasking. The person should have a background and interest in doing research and advanced skills in using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The candidate should also have an interest in trails and working outdoors and a strong belief in accessibility for people with disabilities. Knowledge/experience of Accessibility Guidelines and other standards would be helpful but not required. There are three main projects at Beneficial Designs in which the trails coordinator would have responsibilities. These three projects and their job responsibilities are described below.

The enhancing trails access and information for Northern Nevada project uses the Universal Trail Assessment Process (UTAP) to assess local trails and get signage posted at trailheads. UTAP is an assessment that provides objective information (length, grade, cross slope, surface type) to trail users to help them decide what trail fits their abilities. Detailed reports about the trail surface and features are also given to the land managers. Responsibilities would include:

Coordinating with local land managers to determine what trails they wish to have assessed (over the telephone or face-to-face meetings)

Gathering maps and directions from land managers and meeting them at the trails if necessary

Becoming a certified Trail Assessment Coordinator

Performing the Universal Trail Assessment Process on the required trails

Physically able to assess trails

Entering the trail data into TrailWare 2.0 and checking data

Creating reports of the trail from TrailWare 2.0 to give to land managers

Posting signage at the trailheads

The High Efficiency Trail Assessment Process (HETAP) project is creating a computerized version of UTAP that has been shown to be more accurate and cost-effective than UTAP. Job responsibilities would include:

Testing the HETAP prototypes on trails (must be comfortable working with new technology)

Physically able to push lightweight cart to assess trails

Conducting UTAP on trails and comparing with HETAP results

Keeping track of test trail data in TrailWare 3.0

Giving feedback to designers on the HETAP prototypes from a UTAP Trail Assessment Coordinators perspective

Coordinating meetings

The trail gate barrier project is designing a trail gate at trailheads that will prevent access to motorized trail vehicles, such as ATVs and motorbikes and allow access to hikers, bikers and mobility devices such as manual and power wheelchairs, power scooters, and hand bikes. Job responsibilities would include:

Coordinating field-testing of the prototypes at different events for mobility devices and motorized trail vehicles.

Present at each field testing and conducting field testing

Keeping track of results from field-testing

Give input on design changes of prototypes

If you would like more information about Beneficial Designs you can visit our website at www.beneficialdesigns.com To contact us about this position email seanna@beneficialdesigns.com

18th National Trails Symposium

October 19-22, 2006
Quad Cities, IL & IA