Tucson bike count this week — they are looking for help

Our eternal quest for Platinum Status, upcoming bicycle related events October 19th, 2009

Every year Pima County does a bike count to see how many people are biking around. Ideally, the numbers go up, and that supports more bike infrastructure spending. But the only way to know is to count.

They are seeking volunteers for this year’s count. Here is the email I received:

Hello,

This October, Pima Association of Governments (PAG) will conduct its
second annual Regional Bike Count in conjunction with its member
jurisdictions, the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee
(TPCBAC), and the Greater Arizona Bicycling Association (GABA), among
others.

It is crucial that our region track the number of cyclists on roads and
pathways for a number of reasons. Among them:

• To document the number of people currently cycling, and
monitor how that number is changing over time

• To help prioritize improvements and find locations in need of
safety improvements

We want you to help us count bikes! Help us find out how cycling is
growing in our region.

To lend a hand, just follow these easy steps:

Step 1: You MUST come to ONE of our short training sessions. Training
should last about half an hour. You do not have to attend both training
sessions. Training sessions will be on:

Thursday, October 22, 6:00 p.m., Himmel Park Library
Saturday, October 24, 9:00 a.m., Himmel Park Library

Step 2: Perform a bike count at a particular location (you select an
available location from a list) between the hours of 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. and
from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. The count can be done on any of the three-days
noted below. Morning and afternoon counts do NOT have to be on the
same day, so you can do your morning count on one day and your afternoon
count on another. Or you can go count-crazy and do multiple locations on
all three days!

Step 3: Mail us your count. We’ll provide you with a pre-addressed, prestamped
envelop at the training.

The count will take place on:
Tuesday, October 27
Wednesday, October 28
Thursday, October 29

If you have any questions please contact Ann Chanecka at
achanecka@pagnet.org or 792-1093.

TRAINING:

October 22
OR
October 24

COUNT TIMES:
Morning:

7:00am – 9:00am
Evening:
4:00pm – 6:00pm

–Erik Ryberg

4 Responses to “Tucson bike count this week — they are looking for help”

  1. P.S. Says:
    October 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Like many who work the swing shift, I commute from 3 to 4 p.m., and midnight to 1 a.m. Guess I won’t be counted.

  2. BB Says:
    October 19th, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Automatic pedestrian and bicycle counters.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtyxloPoyI8&

  3. P.S. Says:
    October 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    And the Earth is 93 million miles from the sun. If PAG is using these after midnight on South Park Avenue, please let me know.

  4. Janet Says:
    October 23rd, 2009 at 10:28 am

    I did this last year, and reported a very hazardous (to cyclists) situation at the 5 Points intersection(18th St/S.6th/S.Stone). That hazard still exits: if you’re riding westbound on 18th, the light to cross this dangerous intersection does not change unless there is a car to trigger it. There is no pushbutton for bikes. EVERY westbound cyclist I observed eventually ran the red light after a futile wait for the light to change.

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