Indianapolis holds bike and pedestrian count - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

The City of Indianapolis wants to get an idea of how many cyclists and pedestrians it has, and this week, volunteers will be counting them. 

Starting Tuesday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm and again on Saturday from noon to 2:00 pm, you'll see volunteers at bike lane intersections throughout the city counting cyclists as well as pedestrians.

The city is partnering with INDYCOG and Health by Design to conduct the count, which is modeled after The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.

Over the past year, Indianapolis has installed several bike lanes, most notably on Broad Ripple Ave. and Illinois Street. While the lanes have come under criticism for being confusing to drivers as well as cyclists, city leaders want to find out how much use they're getting.

The idea is to track the impact of the investments that the city has made in its walking and biking infrastructure. That data will could help Indianapolis obtain grants for future improvements.

Volunteers will record counts in fifteen-minute intervals and will include cyclists, pedestrians as well as those using mobility devices like wheelchairs. The count is scheduled for both today and Saturday in order to compile data on both weekday and weekend traffic. This information will be shared nationally.

This is one of several steps being taken by the City to collect data on the usage of bike facilities. The Department of Public Works Office of Sustainability plans to install digital bike counters in multiple high profile bike lane locations later this year.

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