Cities Seek to Quantify Rise in Bicycle Ridership

With bicycle use increasing in the U.S., planners are keen to quantify the increase and identify areas where more bicycle infrastructure may be necessary.

"[T]ransportation planners in states and municipalities across the USA are increasingly deploying high-tech sensors along bicycle and pedestrian paths to map trail, sidewalk and bike-lane use and assess future needs.

Planners have long collected data about the number of vehicles on major roads by placing rubber-strip counters across travel lanes, but those counters are generally unable to detect passing cyclists, says David Patton, a bicycle and pedestrian planner for Arlington County, Va."