Numerous recreational boat traffic studies have been undertaken in Florida in recent years. Most are empirical descriptions of local conditions. There has been little treatment of generalized boat traffic models that could be applied elsewhere. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 summarize the observation strategies, kinds of information gathered, and the main objectives of the studies. A combination of techniques were used to monitor recreational boat traffic or assess boat traffic status. They include interview data (Antonini and Box, 1996), field observation (Lindberg et al., 1992; Staiger and Suitor, 1994), or combinations thereof.
Boat traffic monitoring strategies recently employed in Florida
coastal counties. | 1: Baker and Villanueva (1994) |
| 2: Staiger and Suitor (1994) |
| 3: Boating Research Center (1991) |
| 4: Lindberg et al. (1992) |
| 5: Morris (1990b) |
| 6: Morris (1990a) |
| 7: Easley et al. (1989) |
| 8: Antonini and Box (1996) |
| Study Objective | |
|---|---|
| kinds of boat traffic | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| boat origins and destinations | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| boater demography | 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 |
| boater activity | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| traffic routing | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 |
| traffic density | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 |
| temporal variation | 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 |
| relative influence of specified boat ramps | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| future trends in traffic | 1, 2, 3, 7 |
| modeling traffic system | 1, 2, 3, 8 |
Differences in data collections reflect differences in study priorities. All of these studies evaluated some fundamental aspects of boat traffic, including the kinds boat traffic, principal boating activities, origins, destinations, and relative densities of traffic use. Some (Baker and Villanueva, 1994; Boating Research Center, 1991; Morris, 1990b; Staiger and Suitor, 1994) focused on relative influence of shore facilities, and half (Baker and Villanueva, 1994; Boating Research Center, 1991; Easley et al., 1989; Staiger and Suitor, 1994) emphasized future trends.
There have been attempts to characterize recreational boat traffic as a system that could be modeled (Antonini and Box, 1996; Baker and Villanueva, 1994; Boating Research Center, 1991; Staiger and Suitor, 1994), and two of them (Antonini and Box, 1996; Boating Research Center, 1991) translated a conceptual model into a computer simulation. Both used the principles of network flows along discrete pathways between origins and destinations for prediction. The model presented in this study, which was also used in Antonini and Box (1996), is the only one that used a model that considered boat traffic that is not confined to discrete pathways.
It should be noted that all of the studies mentioned here are unpublished reports that were presented to local governemts for management purposes. This is currently the position for most recreational boat traffic monitoring efforts. With the explosion in recreational boat ownership, there is currently a great level of interest in managing boat traffic, and boat monitoring efforts are not uncommon in waterfront communities. However, most efforts are exclusively for meeting local management objectives, and consequently the results are infrequently published outside the ``gray literature.'' Some published studies that include recreational boat traffic monitoring that have been published outside of Florida are Ashton (1971); Drogin (1991); Hannon et al. (1991); Heatwole and West (1982). With the exception of Hannon et al. (1991), boat traffic monitoring was a component part of the methodology for answering other specific research questions rather than an objective in itself. They all use variants on techniques that are cited in the Florida studies.