This paper analyses the usage of a pilot greenway in a rural environment in Ireland.The path is 42 km long and has several settlements and schools located along theroute. A survey was conducted in five schools along the route, to determine the usageof the greenway by students and staff in the schools. This enabled observations to bemade in relation to the usage of the greenway. Usage of the path is established bymeans of counters located along the route. Average hourly day profiles of usage alongthe path were created for different scenarios. This allowed the differences in usage tobe examined. The impact of national and public holidays was also observed. Usagepatterns are also analysed in relation to a number of weather variables. Therelationships are determined by means of regression analysis. The cost of constructionof the path is known and therefore by establishing the user numbers the cost per tripcan be calculated. The average spend of a tourist in Ireland is known, and the quantityof tourists needed to pay for the path is estimated.The analysis in this paper determined that there is a strong increase in thecycling and walking rate in the areas immediately surrounding the Greenway inpersons accessing places of education. The paper also determined that usage is higherwhen there is a combination of the following variables; temperature is above13.15oCand sunshine hours are between 9.4 and 2.3 hours.
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