Trail Access Points are point features in the Statewide Trails Database that describe where trails are accessed at trail heads, state and municipal parks and forests, or other points of departure.
To facilitate the management and sharing of information for trail mapping, management, planning, and information dissemination purposes.
Statewide Trails Database model version number 1.0. Refer to the Getting_Started.htm document for how to prepare and load existing trail data into the Statewide Trails Database format. A Statewide Trails extension (statewidetrails.avx) is also available for ArcView 3x software for creating identical field attributes in Shapefile format. The extension is useful in preparing data initially collected and maintained in Shapefile format for loading into GeoDatabase Feature Class format.
publication date
No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. Trail line feature information was prepared by collecting trail positions in the field using GPS equipment, digitizing trail maps, compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by copying previously digitized road and trail centerline features. Horizontal accuracy varies depending on the methodology used to map and digitize each trail system. Consequently, as a whole, these data are generally not intended for maps printed at scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet). Refer to the Horizontal Accuracy Notes attribute in the Trail line feature and Roadway line feature class for more specific horizontal accuracy assessments when mapping individual trail systems at larger (more accurate) scales. Trail Access point and Trail Interest point feature information was prepared using similar methods, with horizontal accuracy varying accordingly. Although this data set has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. The State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and all other Originators (referenced in the Citation section of this metadata), should be acknowledged as the data source in products derived from the trail data. For example, include the following data source description on a map: Trails - From the Connecticut Statewide Trails layer, compiled and published by CT DEEP and other trail data collecting agencies and organizations. Source map scale varies.
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All attributes have valid values. Values are within defined domains. Accuracy tests performed by data collector and data provider.
Point features conform to the following topological rules. Points are single part. There are no duplicate points. Points do not overlap. Establishment of logical consistency was performed by the respective data collector (agencies) responsible for manually creating and controlling feature topology in eather Shapefile or Geodatabase format. No automated procedures or tests were performed to guarantee desired topology other than visual inspection.
As complete as data is collected by data collectors and supplied by data providers to the Statewide Trails Database. Because it is designed to include more and more information over time, the Statewide Trails Database does not represent a complete inventory of all greenways, trails, and bike routes. Rather, it is intended to be a Statewide repository of currently available information.
Horizontal accuracy varies depending on the methodology used by data collectors to compile, map and digitize individual trail systems. Information was prepared by collecting trail positions in the field using GPS equipment, digitizing trail maps, compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by copying previously digitized road and trail centerline features. Trail Access Point features do not have to be as accurately mapped as Trail line features because these point locations are only used to represent the general vicinity for where a trail or a system of trails can be accessed at a state park or along side a public road, for example. Trail Access point features can be screen digitized and do not have to connect to or touch the ends of Trail line features, for example. It is not necessary to GPS their locations. Photo and map interpolation are adequate means for positioning these features relative to trails. For trail access along a public road, the point can be digitized along the where parking is provided nearby. At a park, one point can be used to represent the starting point of a group of trails. A point for each trail head at a park need not be digitized. For a typical, park, one Trail Access Point feature is usually sufficient. For larger parks, a Trail Access Point can be located at the parking lot nearest to most of the trails. And for small parks, the point can be digitized in the middle of the parcel next to the location of trails. Also, it is possible to simply include a Trail Access point feature without digitizing the associated Trail (line) features in order to represent very small trail systems such as a short boardwalk or nature trail on a very small parcel. A conservative estimate of overall horizontal accuracy is based on the assumption that Trail line feature data is generally collected at scales that are at least as accurate as 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet), which is the scale of the USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map. But this is only an assumption on the part of theState of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), which coordinated the design of the Statewide Trails Database. For example, GPS data collected by CT DEEP is generally expected to be at 1-4m accuracy, data interpreted and digitized from 2004 aerial photographs at +- 20ft, and data derived from 1:24,000-scale road and trail centerlines at +- 40ft.
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Trail System Id - An Id that associates and relates Trail Access Point features to a Trail System. This is a required field that matches a value in the Trail_System table. All Trail Access Point features that are part of a Trail System are assigned the same Trail System Id. Note, an agency or organization wishing to provide data for inclusion in the Connecticut Statewide Trails database must use Trail System Ids assigned by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that do not conflict with Ids used by other trail data providers. Please contact the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at 860-424-3540 to obtain a block of Trail Systems Ids for your use. Trail System Ids are allocated to data providers in blocks of 50.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Block of 100 Trail System Ids reserved for trail systems submitted by CT DEP
First block of 50 Trail System Ids.
Second block of 50 Trail System Ids.
Third block of 50 Trail System Ids.
Fourth block of 50 Trail System Ids.
Continued allocation of Trail System Ids in blocks of 50, as required.
Site Name - A name that can be assigned to a Trail Access Point that distinguishes it from other Trail Access Points related to the same Trail System, in addition to differences in Site Address (street address). For large parks and forests with geographically separate and distinct trail systems, one Trail Access Point would likely correspond with the main park entrance and another Trail Access Point might correspond with a smaller set of trails at an opposite end of the park. One location would have "Park Entrance" or "Main Entrance" as a Site Name, and the Site Name for the other location could be either left blank or used to describe a unique characteristic of the more remotely located hiking area. This field should always be left blank if there is only one Trail Access Point feature for a Trail System. Together, information from the trail system name, access point site name, access point address, and town location for the access point is intended to be used to uniquely describe each access point by name. See related discussion of Site Address attribute.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Site Address - Indicates the name of the road, street or route that the Trail Access Point is located on. Leave blank if not located on a road. For trail systems with more than one Access Point such as a regional trail or a large state park or forest, use Site Name and or Site Address fields to distinguish between the different access points. Together, information from the trail system name, access point site name, access point address, and town location for the access point is intended to be used to uniquely describe each access point by name. For example, the name for one of the trail access points along the Nipmuck Trail in Willington is based on combining the Trail System Name from the Trail System data table (Nipmuck Trail) and the Site Address (Marsh Road) and Town Number for Willington (160) from the Access Point. By joining the Access Point, Trail System and Town tables, the generated combined result is Nipmuck Trail, Marsh Rd, Willington. Similarly, there are two distinct access points for Mansfield Hollow State Park Wildlife Management Area in Mansfield - one on Bassett Bridge Road and another on Route 89 with the following constructed names: Mansfield Hollow State Park Wildlife Management Area, Bassett Bridge Road, Mansfield and Mansfield Hollow State Park Wildlife Management Area, Route 89, Mansfield.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Town Number - Indicates the town the Trail Access Point is located in. This is a required field that matches a value in the Towns data table.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Parking Type - Indicates the type of parking available at the Trail Access Point.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
There is no designated parking area for this access point.
Parking lot available. This is the default value.
Roadside (street) parking available.
Trailer Parking - Indicates whether there is parking available for horse trailers or snowmobile trailers.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Parking is available for trailers such as horse trailers or snowmobile trailers.
Trailer parking not available. This is the default value.
True - False value is unknown
Restroom - Indicates whether sanitary facilities or restrooms are available at the Trail Access Point.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Restroom/sanitary facility available
Restroom/sanitary facility not available. This is the default value.
True - False value is unknown
Food Concession - Indicates whether there is a food concession located at the Trail Access Point.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Food concession, snack bar, or restaurant available.
Food concession, snack bar, or restaurant not available. This is the default value.
True - False value is unknown
Drinking Water - Indicates whether there is potable drinking water at the Trail Access Point.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Potable drinking water available.
Potable drinking water not available. This is the default value.
True - False value is unknown
Open When - Indicates whether the Trail Access Point is open to the public all year long or seasonally.
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Access point is open seasonally (either Summer or Winter).
Access point is open all year long. This is the default value.
True - False value is unknown
State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Table Relationships: 1. Trail_Access point features are joined to the Town_Data table via the TownNo field. 2. Trail_Access point features are joined to the Trail_System table via the TrailSysId field. Attributes: 1. Trail System Id - Uniquely identifies a logical system of trails and is a common identifier found in all tables. All Trail line, Trail Access point, Trail Interest point, and Roadway line features for a given Trail System are assigned the same Trail System Id. An agency or organization wishing to provide trail data for inclusion in the Connecticut Statewide Trails Database must use Trail System Ids assigned by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection so that they do conflict with Trail System Ids used by other trail data providers. Please contact the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at 860-424-3540 to obtain a block of Trail Systems Ids for your use. Trail System Ids are allocated to data providers in blocks of 50. 2. Field Types - Most fields are text fields except for Trail System Id (TrailSysId) and the Town Number (TownNo) field in the Trail Access Point feature class. 3. Text Fields - Most fields without domains are free-form text fields. Depending on the field, certain rules and conventions need to be applied when entering data in these fields. For example, the Trail Marker (TrailMark) field in the Trail line feature class is to be left blank if a trail is not marked. Do not populate the field with the words "unmarked" or "unblazed", for example. Leave all free-form text fields blank if information is not applicable. 4. Field Domain Range - Attribute domains represent a fixed list of values to choose from for a particular field. Domain values are case sensitive text field values that must be entered exactly as specified in the metadata enumerated domains. For example the Bike attribute uses a true-false domain that stores text information as either "True" or "False", not "TRUE" or "FALSE"; "true" or "false"; "yes" or "no", or 0 or -1, etc. Any value other than "True" or "False" is invalid, with the exception of the NULL option, which is a field value that is only available to data in GeoDatabase and not Shapefile format. Adhering to domain values is important to keep in mind when using the field Calculate option in ArcView 3x or ArcGIS 9x to assign domain attribute values to selected features at once. It is easy to inadvertently calculate values outside the range of a field's domain. 5. Default Values - The default domain values for each field is indicated in the metadata for the field such as "True" for the Hiking or "Unpaved" for the Trail Surface (TrailSurf) field in the Trail line feature class. These are the default values when adding new table records or digitizing new features. 6. Null Field Values - For fields with enumerated domains in GeoDatabase format, NULL is a valid domain value that can be used to signify information is unknown. NULL implies that the information is Unknown. It does not imply that the information is not applicable. 7. Null Field Values (Shapefile format) - For fields with enumerated domains in Shapefile format, NULL is not a valid value so do not enter NULL or "NULL" even though NULL is allowed in GeoDatabase format. For data in Shapefile, leave the field blank if the value is unknown.
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The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.
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