The kids are
heading back to school. For many of us, that signals the end of summer, but –
despite homework and busy back-to-school schedules – it’s really not. In fact,
this time of the year often provides the nicest weather to get out and be active.
As I write this, we’re socked in with smoke from wildfires, but that will soon
pass and we’ll be able to enjoy the warm, sunny days that are late summer and
fall in the Treasure Valley. If you get outside, you know that on those sunny
days, every mile – every foot – of the greenbelt and other pathways seems to be
in constant use.
While it is
great to see so many people using our pathways, we don’t know a lot about how they
are being used. How many people are biking and walking? What routes do they
use? Where are they going? Are they biking to work? Running for exercise?
Walking the dog? Are people using the pathways every day, rain or shine, or
just on sunny weekends?
COMPASS has recently
purchased a set of 12 permanent bicycle/pedestrian counters to help us answer
some of these questions. The counters will be able to tell us how many people
are using Treasure Valley pathways, as well as how and when they are using
them.
The permanent
bicycle/pedestrian counters, the first of their kind in Idaho, are being
installed over the next few weeks. The locations for the counters were chosen
with the help of a 40-member Active Transportation Workgroup. The counters will
be spread throughout the valley on or near dedicated biking and/or walking
paths to gather information from diverse areas, including both large and small
communities. Check out the map to see if there will be a counter along your favorite bike
or walking route (click to enlarge).
While the permanent
counters will focus on dedicated biking and walking paths, we have not
forgotten about bike lanes, roads, and intersections. To capture data from
those, COMPASS has purchased portable bicycle/pedestrian counters. These
portable counters can be used to capture a lot of information about a small
area, then be moved to do the same in a different area. When several portable
counters are used together, we will be able to measure all the bicycle and
pedestrian movements at an entire intersection at one time, which will provide
valuable information.
The data
collected will be used to help inform bicycle and pedestrian planning in the
Treasure Valley. COMPASS will use the data as we develop a Regional
Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan for Ada and Canyon Counties and our member agencies can
use the data for their local plans. The portable counters will allow COMPASS to
assist members by collecting data from specific locations to assist with
specific local planning efforts.
These data will
fill a gap in what we know about bicycle and pedestrian use. We currently have
a method to examine the “supply” side of bicycle and pedestrian facilities – we
can map exiting facilities, such as bike lanes and sidewalks, and measure the characteristics
that make them more or less appealing for biking and walking.
This new data
will help us examine the “demand” side of the equation. Are people using the
existing sidewalks, bike lanes, and bike paths? Are they using other routes
that we haven’t anticipated?
We will soon be
able to look at the two types of data together to see where we have gaps and
where we should plan for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in the future. The
permanent counters will also help us to track trends over time, to see if and
how the numbers of users change by time of day, day of week, and month of year.
This is an
exciting step forward for COMPASS and for the region. We have a lot of
anecdotal information on bicycle and pedestrian use that we will soon be able
to confirm – or deny – with this new data. While each bicyclist or pedestrian
we count may just be taking one small step, these new counters are a giant leap
forward in bicycle and pedestrian planning for our region.
