State seeks volunteers to tally bicyclists, pedestrians

Volunteer registration is now open for anyone who wants to help count the number of people who walk or ride bicycles to their destinations during a three-day survey starting Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Volunteer support is vital to the success of this project, and about 400 people are needed for the count. In 2015, volunteers tallied more than 74,000 bicyclists and pedestrians in communities across Washington.

For this ninth annual survey, the Washington State Department of Transportation and Cascade Bicycle Club are partnering with FeetFirst, Washington Bikes and Futurewise to help count the number of people bicycling and walking Tuesday, Sept. 27, through Thursday, Sept. 29.

Data collected in the count is used by state and local agencies to estimate demand; measure the benefit of bicycle and pedestrian project investments; and improve policies, project designs and funding opportunities. As an example, the city of Bellingham used count data to monitor bicycle and pedestrian transportation trends for its award-winning Alabama Street Corridor Multimodal Safety Improvement project.

To learn more, visit WSDOT’s website, email Cascade Bicycle Club or call 206-439-4301.

WSDOT and the Cascade Bicycle Club are asking volunteers from across the state to perform the counts in nearly 60 communities including Kelso, Longview and Olympia.

WSDOT’s count is part of the National Documentation Project, an annual bicycle and pedestrian count and survey effort sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Engineers Pedestrian and Bicycle Council. The count will also help measure WSDOT’s progress toward the goal of increasing bicycling and walking to reduce the number of vehicle miles driven.