Bike counters needed to help study cycling in Boulder County

Monday, September 12, 2011

Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Transportation Department is seeking volunteers to take bicycle counts at locations around the county.

Volunteers will be rewarded with a one-year Boulder B-cycle membership and a custom thermos.

When: Saturday and/or Sunday, Sept. 24 and 25, 9-11 a.m.
Where: Throughout Boulder County. A map will be provided with assigned location.

The deadline to volunteer is Sept. 22. Contact Brandon Smith at 720-564-2667 or bcsmith@bouldercounty.org to register and for more information.

A location map and a simple spreadsheet will be provided to volunteers to hand-write the counts as they happen.

The bicycle counts will provide the Boulder County with useful information in five areas of study:
1. Conditions and trend analysis – documents the number of people currently bicycling, how this number is changing over time, and characteristics of the cyclists.
2. Network planning – helps prioritize improvements and find locations needing attention.
3. Demand forecasting ¬¬– allows for improvements to be ready before they are needed.
4. Safety – pinpoints areas of concern between cyclists, motorists and pedestrians
5. Usage – identifies shifts in seasonality or times-of-day

Dan Rowland, Communications Specialist
Boulder County Commissioners’ Office
drowland@bouldercounty.org