HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12 Bike Count articleThe Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB) has compiled the results of Bozeman’s second annual bicycle count. BABAB organized over 40 volunteers who counted bicyclists at 15 locations
along popular routes. The City found that when they installed bike lanes and sidewalks on West Babcock Street in 2006, the number of people who chose to walk and bike increased 256
percent. The 2012 bike count, which took place on September 11, 12 and 13 from 5 to 7 pm, used national guidelines to document the number of people riding bikes. Volunteers counted
a total of 5,519 people on bikes over the six-hour sample time. The three most traveled areas were: MSU Centennial Mall (north of the library); Grant Street and South 7th Ave; and the
College and 11th roundabout with 954, 747, and 727 cyclists counted respectively. These three locations averaged between 108 and 159 bikes per hour.
While traffic counts for motor
vehicles are standard practice, there is very little data available on bike traffic. The data collected by BABAB volunteers and community members over the past two years gives a snapshot
of bike traffic in Bozeman. BABAB members anticipate this data will help the City better understand cycling in Bozeman and that it will inform transportation planning efforts. The
figure below summarizes the results of the 2011 and 2012 Bozeman Bike Counts. Data from 2011 is shown in the first column and compared to 2012 data in the second column. The 2012 data
added three new sites for a total of 15 count locations.
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The bike counts preceded the good news that Bozeman has been named a "Silver level Bicycle Friendly City" by the League
of American Bicyclists. The League awarded the City for encouraging and engineering safe and comfortable cycling opportunities with initiatives such as a Complete Streets Policy. The
City implemented Complete Streets in 2010 "to incrementally
improve the transportation network for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and riders, children, older adults and people with disabilities."