Volunteers Needed for Bike Utilization Study

I received the following from the Three-Rivers-Hertitage-Trail Yahoo Group, and I thought I would pass it along:

As part of a national bike utilization effort, we are soliciting volunteers to do bike counts any day next week (or any day through the end of September.)

There are three ways that you could participate:

1. Do an on-site count at a pre-identified location during commuting hours (mornings between 7:30 and 9:30, or afternoons between 4:30 and 6:30. We will provide all instruction. Basically it entails sitting at an intersection and counting the number of bikes that go past, what direction they are going, and whether or not they turn. You can listen to music, drink coffee, etc. during the task. We just need to make sure that you have a clear view of traffic and that you are in a safe location. We can help with all of that.

2. "Adopt a Rack" near where you live or work, and commit to visiting that rack at least once during the week during "standard business hours" to count how many bikes are parked there. If you can commit to visiting the same rack on multiple days during the week, that's even better. We are trying to focus on the "busiest" time of day, so counts taken before 8 a.m. or after 4 p.m. are probably not indicative of true use……

3. You are our eyes on the street. We can't be everywhere. Taking a cue from the National Audobon Society's "Great Outdoor Bird Count" we simply want you to count the number of bikes you see on a given day. If your route on Tuesday takes you from Brighton Heights to Downtown to Oakland to Brighton Heights and you see 30 bicycles that is all we need to know. We'd LIKE to know how many of those 30 were parked at a rack or in the street (as opposed to moving), of course. It doesn't matter what day you count. It doesn't matter if you count every day next week. It doesn't matter if you are driving, and are counting the cyclists you pass. We are trying to do two things here. The first is to try to get a grip on the question "well, how many cyclists ARE there?" We know that any given cyclists may be counted multiple times, but at least it gives us something to start with. The other thing it does is help us identify areas where there are cyclists that are off our current radar screen. That enables us to alter our bike count program and other efforts to be more responsive to real world conditions.

We are working with Bike Pittsburgh to coordinate efforts in the City of Pittsburgh, but our effort does not have to be restricted to that political jurisdiction. If you are located outside of the City, or even in another County, but want to participate, it will help us help you in future ped-bike planning efforts.

If you think you can help with Item 1., please email me, and I'll get you a worksheet and some basic instructions. If you want to help with Item 2 or Item 3, I just need an email with your data once you have conducted the count. I may respond back to you on those for more detailed information on the actual location of the rack, or what you might have seen, but that's about the full extent of your commitment for those tasks.

Please direct any inquiries to:

Sara Walfoort

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 2500

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

(412) 391-5590, ext. 339

Swalfoort@spcregion.org

If you can help with this in any way, it would benefit cycling here in Pittsburgh. Personally, I can't do the first one, because the times conflict with my sons getting on and off the bus, but the second and third are definitely possible.