City of Columbia Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts: Volunteers needed to help make the City of Columbia a safer place to walk and ride!
August 31, 2017
Volunteers to help make the City of Columbia a safer place to walk and ride!
The City of Columbia is seeking volunteers in September to help conduct our fourth annual Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts throughout Columbia. By counting pedestrians and bicyclists, volunteers help to ensure that all of the City’s residents are accounted for. The count tallies transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists that are not often accounted for in traffic studies – the same traffic studies used to make important decisions about our City’s landscape. With their efforts, the volunteers are also taking part in a national effort: the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.
The City targets key intersections and crossings for pedestrian and bicyclist counts across the City of Columbia. These locations are heavily used, and at many of these locations pedestrians and/or bicyclists have been injured or killed by motorists. By collecting data annually, on weekdays and weekends, we are able to provide valuable and robust feedback to the many agencies that plan for our roadways. The survey will help us better understand who uses the City’s roadways, streets and sidewalks included, and how they use them. A greater understanding of people’s behavior, as well as new data, will help to influence people-oriented planning and policy that inspires a walkable, bikeable, and livable transportation design.
You can volunteer to count as many times as you please! Five time slots are available, and each of the 30 locations must be counted once on a weekday and once on a Saturday. Surveyors will count pedestrians and cyclists at one location for two hours; training for the counts is provided to registered counters via email from City staff.
WHAT: City of Columbia Bicyclist & Pedestrian Counts
WHEN: Volunteer to count as many times as you please! Five time slots are available, and each location must be counted once on a weekday and once on a Saturday:
- Thursday, September 7th, 7:30-9:30AM
- Saturday, September 9th, 10:00AM-12:00PM (noon)
- Tuesday, September 12th, 7:30-9:30AM
- Thursday, September 14th, 7:30-9:30AM
- Saturday, September 16th, 10:00AM-12:00PM (noon)
WHERE: Sign up at http://gate.columbiasc.gov/ bikepedcount2017/; counts occur at 30 locations throughout Columbia
WHO: Open to the public
To sign up, visit http://gate.columbiasc.gov/ bikepedcount2017/.
If you have questions regarding the Annual Bicyclist & Pedestrian Count effort, contact Planning and Development Services Department at 803-545-3222.
For information on the City’s Planning efforts, including the Walk Bike Columbia Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan, and the Walkable 29203 Pedestrian Master Plan, visit https://www.columbiasc.net/planning-preservation/city- plans.
For information on the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, visit http://bikepeddocumentation. org/
