National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project
Rebecca
One of the greatest challenges facing the bicycle and pedestrian field
is the lack of documentation on usage and demand. Without accurate and
consistent demand and usage figures, it is difficult to measure the
positive benefits of investments in these modes, especially when
compared to the other transportation modes such as the private
automobile. An answer to this need for data is the National Bicycle &
Pedestrian Documentation Project, co-sponsored by and Alta Planning
and Design and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
Pedestrian and Bicycle Council. This nationwide effort provides
consistent model of data collection and ongoing data for use by
planners, governments, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals.
Methodology
The basic assumptions of the methodology are that, in order to
estimate existing and future bicycle and pedestrian demand and
activity, agencies nationwide need to start conducting counts and
surveys in a consistent manner similar to those being used by ITE and
other groups for motor vehicle models.
News
* Is there value in counting bikes and pedestrians? According to
the City of San Jose there is! The San Jose Parks website reports the
influence of counts on their program: http://www.sjparks.org/Trails/TrailCount.asp
* NBPD would like to thank the many agencies who sent us data and
are excited about the great work done! For example:
o Ithaca, NY counted over 1,800 bicycles and pedestrians
in a two-hour period - at one intersection!
o Using our extrapolation methods, recent counts at the
Capitol Square in Columbus, OH would translate into 560,000 pedestrian
trips annually!
* In early August of 2009, Mid America Regional Council hosted a
training called "By the Numbers." 25 people attended the "train the
trainers" session which covered bicycle survey techniques,
intersection and screenline counts methodology as well as an overview
of the NBPD project. Kansas City and its surrounding communities left
the training very excited about participating in the September 2009
counts and setting up a region-wide program to gather accurate numbers
on biking and walking in the Kansas City area. For more information,
or to schedule a training course, contact Lauren Ledbetter at
laurenl...@altaplanning.com.
* Adjustment Factors Available: While more year-long automatic
count data is needed from different parts of the country, and
especially for pedestrians and on-street bicyclists, enough data now
exists to allow us to adjust counts done almost any period on multi-
use paths and pedestrian districts to an annual figure. Those
adjustment factors are available here.
Questions or Comments?
Email us at: in...@bikepeddocumentation.org
New Available Documents
* Bike-Pedestrian Counting Equipment 101 (pdf)
* Adjustment Factors (pdf)
* NBPD Counts Training (pdf)
* NBPD Survey Training (pdf)
* NBPD Facts and FAQs (pdf)