In our world data matters! One tool that city planners and bike professionals use is a bike count. The National Association of City Transportation Officials has a whole brochure on bike counts. While there are ways to automate this process (wires embedded in the street/bike paths), having humans do a manual count of bikers is still an essential part of the process. In the city of Portland, OR, each summer hundreds of volunteers are recruited to count the number of cyclists crossing various intersections. On Thursday September 5 (tentative date) , we will do a count of the people biking between Centennial and Main Campus. I will ask each student to volunteer for a one hour shift. People whose schedule will not allow them to do a one hour shift will be given an alternate means of receiving credit for this assignment.
Sign up for a one hour shift here. (Bring something to drink and wear a hat or sunscreen!)
One thing we want to try to do is to count ebikes. How to identify an ebike.
Our counts will focus on two intersections: (see them on a map)
–Varsity Drive and Avent Ferry
–Oval Drive/Bilyeu and Centennial Parkway
Besides just doing the actual count, be attentive to what you see (and note it on the sheets if you feel it is relevant). Write a 200 word reflection on what you say and learned from this experience.
If you are unable to sign up for a time, please complete this form and you will be given an alternative assignment.
Here is the protocol that we will follow.
I am handing out paper forms, but here are online forms:
When you have completed your count, please submit it here.
Write a 200 word reflection on what you saw and submit here through Moodle.. Did anything surprise you? Were there more or less bikers than you thought? Anything you observed about them? Male/Female/Professors/Students/…