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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 797 Subscriber Categories Operations and Traffic Management • Pedestrians and Bicyclists • Planning and Forecasting TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2014 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection Paul Ryus, Erin Ferguson, and Kelly M. Laustsen Kittelson & AssociAtes, inc. Reston, VA Robert J. Schneider University of Wisconsin-MilWAUKee Milwaukee, WI Frank R. Proulx sAfe trAnsportAtion reseArch & edUcAtion center (sAfetrec), University of cAliforniA, BerKeley Berkeley, CA Tony Hull toole design groUp Minneapolis, MN Luis Miranda-Moreno Mcgill University Montreal, Canada

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 797 Project 07-19 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 978-0-309-30826-7 Library of Congress Control Number 2014957673 © 2014 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 797 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Christopher Hedges, Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Crawford F. Jencks, Senior Program Officer Charlotte Thomas, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Hilary Freer, Senior Editor NCHRP PROJECT 07-19 PANEL Field of Traffic—Area of Traffic Planning Elizabeth A. Stolz, Chaparral Systems Corp., Denver, CO (Chair) Jennifer Lynn Dill, Portland State University, Portland, OR Michael DuRoss, Delaware DOT, Dover, DE Cindy L. Engelhart,Virginia DOT, Fairfax, VA James M. “Jim” Ercolano, New York State DOT, Latham, NY John N. LaPlante, T.Y. Lin International, Chicago, IL Nancy X. Lefler, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB), Raleigh, NC David Patton, Arlington County, Arlington, VA Daniel A. Rodriguez, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC Ann H. Do, FHWA Liaison Melissa A. Anderson, US Access Board Liaison Kelly Hardy, AASHTO Liaison Bernardo Kleiner, TRB Liaison

NCHRP Report 797: Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection is directed to practitioners involved in collecting non-motorized count data. The Guidebook (1) describes methods and technologies for counting pedestrians and bicyclists, (2) offers guidance on developing a non-motorized count program, (3) gives suggestions on selecting appropriate counting methods and technologies, and (4) provides examples of how orga- nizations have used non-motorized count data to better fulfill their missions. The research behind the Guidebook can be found on the TRB website as NCHRP Web-Only Document 205: Methods and Technologies for Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection (NWOD 205). NWOD 205 includes the results of the testing and evaluation of a range of automated count technologies that capture pedestrian and bicycle volume data. The lack of pedestrian and bicycle volume data is a barrier to transportation agency efforts to plan more effective facilities and to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. Transpor- tation agencies have well-established procedures for collecting, summarizing, and disseminat- ing motor vehicle traffic volumes, but these procedures do not generally provide pedestrian and bicycle volume data. Most pedestrian and bicycle volume data collection is done for spe- cific project locations after preliminary selection of candidate project locations has been made. The lack of systemwide pedestrian and bicycle volume data limits the ability of transportation agencies to provide or improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities where the need is greatest and is an impediment to developing better predictive methods for pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Many potential sources of pedestrian and bicycle volume data are not being used. The fea- sibility of using these sources, including addressing privacy and security issues and extrapo- lating to estimate 24-hour counts and annual counts, needed to be investigated. Once inves- tigated, guidance for practitioners on the use of existing, new, and innovative methods and technologies could be developed. Under NCHRP Project 07-19, “Methods and Technologies for Collecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data,” a research team led by Kittelson & Associates, Inc., assessed new data sources and new technologies for obtaining pedestrian and bicycle volume data for use in systemwide needs assessments, project development, and safety management. The team tested and evaluated a range of automated count technologies focusing on different count settings (i.e., ranges of temperature, varying weather conditions, mixed traffic conditions, mixed travel directions, and different facility types) to determine their accuracy and reli- ability in the different contexts. Research results have been documented in two publications. This Guidebook is geared to the application of results by practitioners. NWOD 205, which can be found on the TRB website, is recommended reading for those interested in the details of the research that led to the Guidebook. F O R E W O R D By Crawford F. Jencks Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guidebook was developed under NCHRP Project 07-19. Paul Ryus of Kittelson & Associates, Inc. (KAI) was the Principal Investigator. Co-investigators were Erin Ferguson and Kelly M. Laustsen of KAI; Robert J. Schneider of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Frank R. Proulx of Safe Transportation Research & Education Center (SafeTREC), University of California, Berkeley; Tony Hull of Toole Design Group (TDG); and Luis Miranda-Moreno of McGill University. Additional members of the research team were Andrew Ooms of KAI; Jessica Horning, formerly with KAI; and RJ Eldridge, Jennifer Toole, Katie Mencarini, Ciara Schlichting, and Jim Elliott of TDG. Jackie Olsommer and Dorret Oosterhoff of KAI provided administrative assistance. Tony Dang, Karen Chu, Noor Al-Samarrai, Brandon Lee, Sana Ahmed, Saad Patel, and Nellie Nafissi of SafeTREC spent many hours developing manual counts from video footage. The researchers would like to thank the following organizations and staff members for their assistance in identifying and implementing the automated counter test sites and, in some cases, allowing access to existing automated count data: • Arlington County, Virginia: David Patton • City of Davis, California: David Kemp • City of Minneapolis, Minnesota: Simon Blenski • City of Portland, Oregon: Wendy Gibson, Peter Koonce, Mark Haines, and Maija Spencer • City of San Francisco, California: Laura Stonehill • District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT): George Branyan, Jim Sebastian, and Mike Goodno • Three Rivers Park District, Minnesota: Thomas Mercier • University of California, Berkeley, California: Todd Henry • University of Minnesota: Greg Lindsey, Steve Hankey, and Peter Hankla Carlos Stevenson and Adam Graytock of Quality Counts, LLC, coordinated obtaining equipment from vendors and the videotaping effort at most count sites. Quality Counts staff who assisted with device installation and videotaping included Dan Brennan, Jeff Walton, Dana Hanenburg, Dan Franz, and Michael Frakes. Traffic Data, Inc., conducted videotaping at the Minneapolis sites. The researchers would like to thank Jean François-Rheault and David Beitel for their generous assistance in lending some of the count equipment tested and for being available to answer questions on installing and using the equipment. Jamie Parks, now with the City of Oakland, California, got the project started while at KAI and provided review comments throughout the course of the project. Dr. Greg Lindsey of the University of Minnesota shared data and advice with the research team.

ix Quick Start Guide ix How to Use This Guide x Introduction to Non-Motorized Counting xi Potential Applications for Non-Motorized Counts xii Planning and Implementing a Data Collection Program xiv Adjusting Count Data xvi Sensor Technologies xvii Case Studies xvii Other Resources 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 About This Guidebook 2 1.2 Guidebook Scope 5 1.3 Non-Motorized Counting Concepts 10 Chapter 2 Non-Motorized Count Data Applications 10 2.1 Measuring Facility Usage 12 2.2 Evaluating Before-and-After Volumes 14 2.3 Monitoring Travel Patterns 15 2.4 Safety Analysis 17 2.5 Project Prioritization 19 2.6 Multimodal Model Development 21 Chapter 3 Data Collection Planning and Implementation 21 3.1 Chapter Organization 22 3.2 Planning the Count Program 42 3.3 Implementing the Count Program 57 Chapter 4 Adjusting Count Data 57 4.1 Chapter Overview 57 4.2 Sources of Counter Inaccuracy 59 4.3 Measured Counter Accuracy 61 4.4 Counter Correction Factors 66 4.5 Expansion Factors 70 4.6 Example Application of Factor Adjustment Methods 75 Chapter 5 Sensor Technology Toolbox 76 5.1 Manual In-Field Counts 78 5.2 Manual Counts from Video 80 5.3 Automated Counts from Video 81 5.4 Pneumatic Tubes 84 5.5 Inductive Loop Detectors 87 5.6 Passive Infrared C O N T E N T S

89 5.7 Active Infrared 91 5.8 Piezoelectric Strips 92 5.9 Radio Beams 95 5.10 Thermal 96 5.11 Laser Scanners 96 5.12 Pressure and Acoustic Pads 98 5.13 Magnetometers 98 5.14 Fiberoptic Pressure Sensors 100 Chapter 6 References 103 Appendix A Case Studies 117 Appendix B Manual Pedestrian and Bicyclist Counts: Example Data Collector Instructions 121 Appendix C Count Protocol Used for NCHRP Project 07-19 138 Appendix D Day-of-Year Factoring Approach

Quick Start Guide Guidebook Organization Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Non-Motorized Count Data Applications Chapter 3: Data Collection Planning and Implementation Chapter 4: Adjusting Count Data Chapter 5: Sensor Technology Toolbox Chapter 6: References Appendix A: Case Studies Appendix B: Manual Pedestrian and Bicycle Counts: Example Data Collector Instructions Appendix C: Count Protocol Used for NCHRP Project 07-19 Appendix D: Day-of-Year Factoring Approach How to Use This Guide This Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection is a resource for those who are, or would like to be, involved in collecting non-motorized count data. The guidebook • Describes methods and technologies for counting pedestrians and bicyclists, • Offers guidance on developing a non-motorized count program, • Gives suggestions on selecting appropriate counting methods and technologies, and • Provides examples of how organizations have used non-motorized count data to better fulfill their missions. This guidebook also describes correction factors to improve the accuracy of counts produced by automated counters, factors for expanding short-term counts to longer-term volume estimates, and factors for adjusting counts to reflect environmental conditions at the time of the count, such as rain. Related topics, such as trip sampling techniques (e.g., surveys, wireless device detection, and global positioning system [GPS] data), pedestrian and bicycle presence detection, and pedestrian and bicycle trip generation estimation, are outside the guidebook’s scope. This Quick Start section provides the highlights from each guidebook chapter, to help readers quickly find the most important information in the guidebook and to lead them to the material of greatest interest to them. Quick Start Guide

x Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection Introduction to Non-Motorized Counting Chapter 1, Introduction, describes how the guidebook is organized and summarizes the research that led to its development (Section 1.1), discusses what is and is not covered in the guidebook (Section 1.2), and gives an overview on non-motorized counting concepts (Section 1.3). While methods and technologies for motorized vehicle counting are well established, there has been little national guidance available on pedestrian and bicycle counting, primarily consisting of the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Program (NBPD), which began in 2004, and the FHWA’s Traffic Monitoring Guide (TMG), which added a chapter on non-motorized counting in 2013. This guidebook is intended to help fill this gap. There are some important differences between motorized and non-motorized traffic counting. In particular • Pedestrian and bicycle volumes are more variable than motor vehicle volumes. While both motorized and non-motorized volumes vary over time (e.g., by time of day, by season of year), non-motorized volumes on a given day are much more sensitive to the weather that day than are motorized volumes. In addition, hourly pedestrian and bicycle volumes at most locations tend to be relatively low compared to the volumes observed at typical motorized vehicle count sites; these lower volumes also contribute to higher day-to-day variability. • Pedestrian and bicycle trips tend to be shorter than automobile trips and are often made for different purposes. As a result, pedestrian and bicycle volumes tend to be more sensitive to adjacent land uses (automobiles may be just passing through an area, rather than beginning or ending a trip there, and peak periods for pedestrian and bicycle trips may not necessarily coincide with the peak periods for automobile traffic. • Motor vehicles tend to be easier to detect than pedestrians and bicycles. Pedestrians and bicyclists are smaller than motor vehicles, often travel together in close groups, and may travel outside designated walkways and bikeways. In contrast, motor vehicles are large, metal objects that move in lanes and travel with relatively sizable gaps between each vehicle (FHWA 2013). • Experience with pedestrian and bicycle counting technology is more limited than for motor vehicles. The technologies commonly used to count motor vehicles are well estab- lished, counting errors associated with particular technologies are understood, and meth- ods for addressing errors are fairly well developed (FHWA 2013). In contrast, some of the counting technologies used for non-motorized counting are different than those com- monly used for motorized vehicle counting, and new technologies are emerging. Chapter 1 Topics • Guidebook objectives • Guidebook organization • Guidebook development • Topics covered in the guidebook • Related topics not covered in the guidebook • Relationship of the guidebook to the FHWA Traffic Monitoring Guide • Important differences between motorized and non-motorized counting • Components of a non-motorized volume counter

Quick Start Guide xi The greater variability present in non-motorized volumes means that factoring techniques used to estimate long-term (e.g., annual) motorized volumes based on short-term (i.e., 24-hour or less) counts are not necessarily appropriate for non-motorized counting. Many sources in the literature (e.g., Danish Road Directorate 2004, Niska et al. 2012, Nordback et al. 2013) show that the error in estimating average annual bicycle traffic from 2-hour, 12-hour, or even 1-week counts can be up to 40%. Potential Applications for Non-Motorized Counts Chapter 2, Non-Motorized Count Data Applications, provides real-world examples of the many ways that non-motorized count data can be applied to improve the way transportation organizations perform their work. This project’s practitioner survey found that the most common ways that pedestrian and bicycle count data were being used were • Tracking changes in pedestrian and bicycle activity over time, • Evaluating the effects of new infrastructure on pedestrian and bicycle activity, • Prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle projects, • Modeling transportation networks and estimating annual volumes, and • Conducting risk or exposure analyses. Chapter 2 describes and provides examples of applying non-motorized count data in the following ways: • Measuring facility usage at the city and state levels; • Evaluating before-and-after volumes after a new facility is opened, as performed by a metro- politan planning organization (MPO) and a city; • Monitoring travel patterns at automated count sites, for use in developing factors to expand short-term bicycle and pedestrian counts at other locations, as conducted by a county and an MPO; • Counting non-motorized volumes to quantify exposure and develop crash rates and to iden- tify the before-and-after safety effects of upgrading a facility; • Identifying high-priority locations for pedestrian and bicycle facility improvements; and • Developing and calibrating multimodal travel demand models. Non-motorized count data will likely continue to grow in importance as states and regions integrate non-motorized performance measures into their performance management pro- grams, including performance reporting occurring due to MAP-21 transportation funding requirements. Chapter 2 Topics • Measuring the usage of a pedestrian or bicycle facility • Measuring the change in pedestrian or bicycling activity following the development or improvement of a facility • Monitoring non-motorized travel patterns • Using non-motorized count data to evaluate risk or exposure as part of safety analyses • Applying count data when prioritizing transportation projects • Using count data in developing and validating multimodal travel demand models

xii Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection Planning and Implementing a Data Collection Program Chapter 3, Data Collection Planning and Implementation, describes the steps involved in starting and expanding a non-motorized count program: Planning the Count Program Implementing the Count Program Specify the data collection purpose Obtain necessary permissions Identify data collection resources Procure counting devices* Select count locations and determine Inventory and prepare devices* the count timeframe Train staff Consider available counting methods Install and validate devices* and technologies Calibrate devices* Maintain devices* Manage count data Clean and correct count data Apply count data *Steps that only apply to counts using automated counting techniques. Planning the Program The following steps are involved when starting to plan a non-motorized count program: • Specify the data collection purpose. It is important to define at the start why data will be collected and how the data will be used, as this information drives subsequent decisions about where, when, and how to collect data. Both current and potential future uses of data should be considered. • Identify data collection resources. Available resources will help define the initial scale of the program. Many successful programs have started with a small number of count sites and later expanded after the value of performing counts had been demonstrated. Even organizations with no dedicated counting budget can start a program by organizing volunteers, creating partner- ships with other agencies, and/or taking advantage of existing data collected by others. • Select general count locations and determine the count timeframe. Pedestrian and bicycle data collection programs can benefit from combining two approaches: (1) gathering short-duration counts (typically less than one day to several days, but potentially up to several months) at many locations; and (2) gathering continuous counts over multiple years at a small sample of locations. Count sites can be selected in a number of ways, but the data collection purpose should always be a consideration when selecting sites. In addition to identifying the geographic scope of their count program, organizations need to think about how long and how often counts will occur. • Consider available counting methods and technologies. There are a number of available technologies for counting pedestrians and bicycles, and many count programs use several of these. According to this project’s practitioner survey, the most common technologies are Chapter 3 Topics • Planning a non-motorized volume counting program • Implementing the count program

Quick Start Guide xiii manual counts (i.e., the human eye), passive infrared, active infrared, radio beam, pneumatic tubes, inductive loops, piezoelectric sensor, radio beam, and automated video. Matching a specific technology to a specific site requires considering – The site’s physical characteristics (e.g., facility width, background objects, ease of mounting or installing a counter, and intersection versus mid-block location); – The site’s user characteristics (e.g., pedestrians only versus bicycles and pedestrians, ten- dency of users to travel in groups, and anticipated peak user volumes); – Whether only counts are required, or also user behavior or demographic data (e.g., helmet use and gender); and – Need for obtaining permits or other forms of permission. Implementing the Program The following steps are involved when implementing the counting program: • Obtaining permission. If the organization conducting the counts is not the same as the organization owning the right-of-way (e.g., a public works department or a DOT) or objects within or next to the right-of-way that will be used to mount equipment (e.g., a utility pole or a building face), it will likely be necessary to obtain permission to install a counter. Track- ing down whom to ask and then obtaining permission can take some time, which should be planned for in the implementation schedule. • Procuring counting devices. Choosing good equipment and a good vendor is important when using automated technology as part of a count program. The sensor technology itself is supported by other equipment (e.g., mounting devices and data loggers) that are also essential for the success of a counting product, and the vendor’s customer service record is important to consider. Section 3.3.2 provides suggested questions to ask vendors when considering pur- chasing equipment. It often takes 1 to 2 months to obtain equipment after placing an order, which should be planned for in the schedule. • Inventorying and preparing devices. An inventory documents whether all the expected equipment has been delivered. In addition, an inventory is useful for identifying additional tools or supporting equipment that may be necessary to obtain in advance of field installation (e.g., wrenches, screws, fastening devices, and batteries). In these security-conscious times, it is also a good idea to place contact information on the equipment. Section 3.3.3 provides an equipment preparation checklist. • Training staff. Staff training is important for both automated and manual counting, although the kind of training involved is very different for the two types of counting. With automated counting, training involves how to monitor and adjust the equipment, while manual count- ing requires training staff or volunteers on how to perform a count. Section 3.3.4 provides an equipment monitoring checklist for automated counts and a description of key elements for manual counter training. • Installing and validating equipment. Equipment installation can be one of the most chal- lenging steps in the data collection process. Count managers should budget significant time for installation to ensure that it is done correctly. To help practitioners successfully install equipment, Section 3.3.5 provides the following checklists of activities to perform before, during, and after installation: advance preparation, on-site arrival, counter installation, post- installation, and follow-up. An important step in the equipment installation process is valida- tion: determining whether or not a device is working properly and taking inventory of existing and planned facilities at the count location. Validation involves testing the device both on the installation day and several days after installation.

xiv Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection • Calibrating devices. The sensors used in some counting technologies (e.g., inductive loops and pneumatic tubes) can be adjusted to make the sensor more or less sensitive, and thereby less prone to non-detections (undercounting) or false-positive detections (overcounting). The initial test period during installation can suggest whether or not a sensitivity adjustment is needed. Validation counts should also be performed at least once a year to monitor a device’s accuracy, and the device recalibrated as needed. • Maintaining devices. Counting equipment must be regularly maintained to ensure accurate, consistent counts. In particular, staff should visit permanent count sites at least every 3 months to check that devices are still present, pointed in the correct direction, and in working condi- tion. Staff should check for the accumulation of dirt, mud, water, or other materials that could affect the sensor or other equipment components. • Managing count data. Various systems are available for managing data after data have been downloaded from the counter, including in-house spreadsheets and databases, vendor- supplied software, in-house software, and cloud-based repositories. When possible, orga- nizations should consider building on the expertise and data management systems they may have already developed for their motorized count data. In addition to saving time and effort by using an existing framework, integrating pedestrian and bicycle counts into a motorized count database can help an organization create a fully multimodal traffic monitoring system. • Cleaning and correcting count data. Cleaning count data refers to identifying and addressing problems with the data (e.g., no recorded counts for a period of time or unusu- ally high counts with no obvious explanation). Correcting count data refers to adjust- ing the raw count results to address the under- or overcounting inherent to a particular technology. • Applying count data. Once the count data have been collected, adjusted, cleaned, and stored, they are ready to be used in all of the ways described in Chapter 2. Adjusting Count Data Chapter 4, Adjusting Count Data, focuses on two types of factors that can be applied to count data when developing volume estimates: • Correction factors are developed from validation counts and account for systematic inaccura- cies in counter technology. These factors are used to adjust raw counts to more closely represent the ground truth. • Expansion factors are applied specifically to short-duration counts to estimate volumes over longer periods of time. Chapter 4 Topics • Sources of automated counter errors • Measured accuracy and precision of automated sensor technologies • Correction factors for automated counters, used to adjust raw counts to more closely represent the ground truth • Expansion factors, applied to short-duration counts to estimate volumes over longer periods of time • Example application of applying correction and expansion factors

Quick Start Guide xv The primary sources of errors that require correction are • Occlusion. Some counter technologies count users who cross an invisible screenline. When two or more people cross the line simultaneously, an undercount occurs because the device only detects the person nearest the sensor. • Environmental conditions. Depending on the particular counting technology, precipitation, temperature, or lighting conditions may create undercounts (i.e., a person is not detected who should have been) or overcounts (e.g., when snowflakes are counted as persons). • Bypass errors. In some cases, it may not be technologically possible for a counter’s detection zone to cover the full facility width; in other cases, it may be possible for users to bypass the detection zone (e.g., bicyclists riding on the sidewalk, when the counter is in the bike lane). In these cases, a counter could be perfectly accurate at detecting persons passing through its detection zone and yet not produce a perfectly accurate count of the number of persons using the facility. • Mixed-traffic effects. When bicycle counters are located close to, or in, the motor vehicle travel lanes, some motor vehicles may be counted as bicycles, or bicycles may be missed if a motor vehicle passes the counter at the same time. Section 4.3 provides statistics on the accuracy and consistency of various automated count- ing technologies tested under NCHRP Project 07-19. In this guidebook, accuracy refers to the magnitude of the difference between the count produced by the technology and the actual (“ground truth”) count (gathered manually from video data or another means of obtaining a precise estimate of the actual count). This difference typically depends on user volumes, movement patterns, traffic mix, and environmental characteristics. Consistency reflects the remaining variability in the count data after being corrected for expected under- or over- counting, given specific conditions. This variability typically depends on the counting tech- nology itself, how a specific vendor uses the technology in a particular product, and the quality of the installation. Section 4.4 provides correction factors for adjusting the raw counts produced by a counter to more accurately reflect the true volumes. Because the accuracy of a given counting technology can vary substantially between different vendors’ implementations of the technology, and because site-specific conditions can also affect a counter’s accuracy, it is recommended that local cor- rection factors be developed whenever possible. These factors can be applied to (1) a permanent count site, to account for both technological and site-specific sources of errors, or (2) a device used for short-term counts used at many sites, to account for the device’s technological sources of error. Section 4.4.2 describes how to develop local correction factors. Expansion factors are used to estimate pedestrian or bicycle volumes under conditions differ- ent than actually counted and include the following types of adjustments: • Temporal adjustments. Temporal adjustments are used to estimate volumes at a different time, or for a longer time period, than was counted. A common application is to expand a short-term count to an estimate of annual volume. • Environmental adjustments. Environmental adjustments are used to estimate what the counted volume would have been under different conditions than occurred during the count. For example, a count taken during rainy, hot, or windy conditions could be adjusted to esti- mate the volume that would have been seen on a good weather day. • Land use and facility type adjustments. These adjustments can be used to account for differ- ences in volumes attributable to differences in the surroundings of a count site, compared to a continuously counted control site.

xvi Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection Expansion factors are typically applied to short-term count sites sharing an activity profile (e.g., commuter versus recreational route or shopping district versus residential area) similar to that of the continuously counted site(s) used to develop the expansion factor. Section 4.6 provides a simplified, hypothetical exercise of working with raw data to arrive at an estimate of annual volumes. Sensor Technologies Chapter 5, Sensor Technology Toolbox, summarizes 14 existing and emerging sensor tech- nologies available for non-motorized counting. Each technology or method (in the case of man- ual counting) is presented in its own subsection, along with the following information: • Description of how the counting technology or method detects pedestrians or bicyclists; • Typical applications for the technology; • General installation considerations for the technology (The manufacturer’s installation rec- ommendations should take precedence over these general considerations); • Relative level of effort and cost, drawing from the literature, vendor-provided information, and the research team’s experience; • Strengths and limitations of the technology or method, drawing from the literature and the research team’s experience; • Accuracy, drawing from the NCHRP Project 07-19 testing when possible, and supplementing from the available literature; and • Description of current usage, drawing from the NCHRP Project 07-19 practitioner surveys and interviews. Chapter 5 Topics Chapter 5 summarizes typical applications, installation considerations, relative level of effort and cost, strengths and limitations, accuracy, and usage of 14 existing and emerging counting technologies and methods: • Manual in-field counting • Manual counts from video • Automated counts from video • Pneumatic tubes • Inductive loop detectors • Passive infrared • Active infrared • Piezoelectric strips • Radio beams • Thermal • Laser scanners • Pressure and acoustic pads • Magnetometers • Fiberoptic pressure sensors

Quick Start Guide xvii Case Studies Appendix A provides ten real-world case studies that highlight particular aspects of non- motorized counting: 1. Using continuous count patterns to compare short pedestrian counts; 2. Using continuous count data to achieve multiple purposes; 3. Using pedestrian volume patterns to provide data for a community-wide demand model; 4. Using pedestrian volume patterns to provide exposure data for a safety analysis; 5. Using volunteers to collect annual pedestrian and bicycle counts; 6. Using counts to document trail use, involving coordination among three organizations; 7. Using a systematic process to select permanent count sites; 8. Using automated counters to identify common bicycle volume patterns; 9. Using counts to map pedestrian and bicycle volumes throughout a community; and 10. Using counts to classify bicycle traffic patterns in five North American cities. Other Resources Appendix B provides sample data collector instructions for performing manual pedestrian and bicycle counts. Appendix C provides the count protocol used by NCHRP Project 07-19 for generating ground truth manual counts from video, used in determining the accuracy of vari- ous automated counting devices. Appendix D describes an approach for expanding short-term counts based on day-of-the-year factors, rather than the traditional day-of-week and month- of-year approach.

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 797: Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection describes methods and technologies for counting pedestrians and bicyclists, offers guidance on developing a non-motorized count program, gives suggestions on selecting appropriate counting methods and technologies, and provides examples of how organizations have used non-motorized count data to better fulfill their missions.

To review the research methods used to develop the guidebook, refer to NCHRP Web-Only Document 205: Methods and Technologies for Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Collection.

An errata for NCHRP Report 797 and NCHRP Web Only Document 205 has been issued.

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