Counting Technology from sensors, mobile apps and video systems help transportation planners accurately count travelers on bicycle and on foot.

Benefits & Problems Addressed

Target investments: Determine where investments in walking and biking infrastructure are most needed

Lower costs: Digital data collection and analysis helps lower the cost of tracking bicycle and pedestrian modes.

On-going assessment: Assess changes over time, draw conclusions about the impact of new facilities, and improve the design of future facilities

Crash context: Understand crashes involving people walking or bicycling more than is typically possible with crash data alone

Quantification: Quantify walking and biking share of travel, which can define active transportation's project funding

Tips & Techniques

Determining data collection purpose and use: To get started, determine (1) why you are collecting data, for example for justifying investments, applying for funding, examining safety. (2) which modes (pedestrian, bicycle or both); (3) constraints such as signals for mobile collection or lack of places to mount sensors.

Mobile technology: includes software that can be downloaded onto a mobile device and includes  app based counting software, GPS enabled route trackers, and anonymous data collection 

Imagery: includes technology that uses sensors to capture bicycle and pedestrian movements, including imagery video detection systems, video counting software and thermal sensors.

Low-cost hardware category includes stand-alone technologies that are deployed to capture non-motorized data such as pneumatic tube counters and wireless sensors.

Hot Buttons: Privacy concerns, detection errors, energy sources.

Resources

Innovation in Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts, Alta Planning + Design