CONSIDERING SIDEWALK RIDING
CONDUCTING BICYCLE COUNTS
Jakob Rooney and Lev McCarthy, University of Vermont ‘15City of Burlington Department of Public Works
December 5, 2014
Prepared For:City of BurlingtonDepartment of Public Works (DPW)
Nicole LoschTransportation Planner / Pedestrian & Bicycle Program Manager
Prepared By:Lev [email protected]
Jakob Rooney [email protected]
December 2014
Conducting Bicycle Counts Considering Sidewalk Riding
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CONTENTS
• Introduction • Goals• Existing Methods • Burlington, VT • Our Methods • Results• Recommendations
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INTRODUCTION
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GOALS
•Use bicycle counting and observation to better understand sidewalk riding behavior.
•To analyze existing bicycle counting methodology, experiment with different methods, and develop a counting method that includes sidewalk riders.
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EXISTING METHODS
● Video monitoring● Pressure pads● Tubes
● Manual counts○ mechanical counters ○ tally sheets
6Van der Horst et al., 2014
Diamond Traffic Products
EXISTING METHODS
Screenline counts Intersection turning movement counts
Source: PSU Guide to Bicycle & Pedestrian Count Programs
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BURLINGTON
Projects led by CCRPC •Due to technical limitations, the automated counters only have been used on shared-use paths and other areas where bicycle/pedestrians are physically separated from the roadway.•Video monitoring has been used to gauge the accuracy of tube counters.
Source: CCRPC Turning Traffic Data
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NORTH ST.
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NORTH ST.
Intersections: North St - N Winooski Ave &North St - Elmwood Ave
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OUR METHODS
● paper observation forms
● pilot week
● scheduling for on-site observation○ peak hours
● compiling and organizing observations
● revising observation sheet ○ Google spreadsheet
● route tracking
● statistical analysis
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OBSERVATIONS
Total bicycle count = 359Hours on site = 14Ave. bicycles per hour = 26
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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RECOMMENDATIONS
● Establish sites for repeated counts ○ on-road○ utilitarian routes
● Include observations on sidewalk riding in bicycle count methods○ the raw count is not the whole story
● Compare sidewalk riding counts on roads with and without infrastructure
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