GPS data may help Met Council better understand park use

The Metropolitan Council is exploring ways to use cellphone GPS data to better understand who is visiting the metro area's 56 regional parks.

That data would offer more specific insights about how far visitors travel to reach a park and what areas of the park they are using, said Libby Starling, the Met Council's director of regional planning.

The Met Council currently conducts a visitor survey every five years, but that survey can't offer granular data on individual parks or trails.

"We are trying to use all available data sources to understand who our visitors are," Starling said. "By understanding who is and who is not visiting our regional park system, we can ensure we design a system that is meeting the needs of as many people as possible."

The Met Council is purchasing the cellphone data, which contains no names, from a private data vendor and will compare it to visitor survey data to understand the strengths of the two sources.

"We expect to know enough by 2021 to know if we'll continue using both or if we'll phase out visitor surveys," Starling said.

Cellphone GPS data is often used in transportation planning, Starling said.

"That's why we're using it — because every visit to our regional parks starts with a trip," she said.

Met Council staffers have conducted analyses to demonstrate the use of such data, including visitor demographics, how people traveled to the park and what percentage of visitors are local.

"We are trying to use data to improve the park user experience and help encourage everyone to take advantage of the regional parks," Starling said.

Regional parks in the metro area saw nearly 60 million visits in 2018, a record.

Mara Klecker • 612-673-4440