Help Arlington bike/ped planners gather data

Last year Arlington County bicycle/pedestrian planners requested volunteers to help collect counts of users on Arlington’s bike/ped facilities. They are asking for help once more. Volunteers will be asked to camp out at a specific location for two hours on February 18th or 20th, counting bikes and peds that pass by. If you are interested in participating, contact bikepedcounts@arlingtonva.us. More information is below.

Arlington County transportation programs BikeArlington and WalkArlington are looking for volunteers to help collect bicycle and pedestrian counts in Arlington County on February 18th and 20th. This regular data collection is part of a national project to document walking and cycling as modes of transportation. Collecting better data on usage and demand is essential to building long-term support for walking and cycling. More information about the national effort can be found at http://bikepeddocumentation.org

Count locations in Arlington include shared use paths, urban sidewalks and intersections, and on-road bike lanes. Many of the sites are easily accessible by Metro. Arlington transportation staff will provide training and materials. Shifts are two hours long in the morning and evening on Thursday, February 18th and Noon to 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 20th. At some locations, volunteers may be asked to observe directional information, helmet usage, and other demographic data in addition to the number of cyclists and pedestrians.

If you’d be interested in helping with this effort, email bikepedcounts@arlingtonva.us. Arlington County’s staff coordinator will help you choose a count location and time. We’ve had up to 50 volunteers help with previous counts — let’s see if we can provide even better coverage this time.