While many American cities rely on vehicle counts to make transportation planning decisions, most haven’t prioritized counting bikes, leading to underinvestment in bike infrastructure.

“Countless American cities have invested in networks of car counters, whose infamous ‘level of service’ data transportation leaders often use to justify dubious lane expansion projects on the busiest segments of their road networks.” But as Kea Wilson points out in Greater Greater Washington, many fewer cities have invested in resources for counting bicyclists. “That means that dynamic changes in ridership caused by easily fixable problems can go totally unnoticed until a resident makes a report — and even basic, critical metrics, like how likely pedestrians are to be killed in a fatal crash per miles traveled, aren’t analyzed at all.”
“In a recent paper for the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, researchers took a close look at the shockingly nascent science of bicycle counting and how cities could do a better job of measuring where its residents ride.” Unlike other research on the topic, the study combined a variety of data sources—physical counters, voluntary monitoring apps like Strava, bike share data, and cell phone data—to estimate bike counts in six cities.
Its authors caution that no one method accurately represents the number of bikes circulating in a city, so investing in a combination of sources is the only way to attempt a more accurate count. Lead author Sirisha Kothuri “particularly recommends that policymakers go after any available grant money they can find to invest in automatic bicycle counters in addition to big data services, validate and maintain those static counters rigorously, and place them thoughtfully throughout the community, not just on the recreational trails where counters are most likely to record big numbers.”
FULL STORY: Why cities need to do a better job of counting bicyclists

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process
The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

Trump's “Able Bodied” Public Housing Limits Could Displace Over 300,000 New Yorkers
As part of 43% cut to federal rental assistance, Trump is proposing a two-year limit on public housing tenure for “able bodied adults.”

Nine Ways to Use Curb Space That Aren’t Parking
California’s new daylighting law bans parking within 20 feet of crosswalks. How can cities best use this space?
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