City of Columbia plans count of bicyclists and pedestrians

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The city of Columbia is seeking volunteers to help conduct bicyclist and pedestrian counts around the city.

The city targets key intersections and crossings for these counts because these heavily used locations are also where many pedestrians and bicyclists are injured or killed in accidents, according to a news release.

By collecting data on both weekdays and weekends, city officials are able to provide feedback to the agencies that plan local roadways, the release stated.  The data will help officials better understand who uses city roadways and sidewalks and how they use them and will help to influence people-oriented planning that inspires bikeable and walkable transportation design.

Volunteers can sign up to count as many times as they would like during nine available time slots. Each location must be counted once on a weekday and once on a Saturday. Surveyors can select from a list of count locations and will count pedestrians and cyclists at one location for two hours.

All volunteers are asked to take measures to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 by wearing a mask and staying socially distant from others during count hours. Surveyors may wish to familiarize themselves with the site in advance in order to identify appropriate safety precautions.

Available time slots are 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 10, 17 and 24, and 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Sept. 13-15 and Sept. 20-24.

Volunteers can sign up at https://bit.ly/2022FallCounts.

For more information, contact the city’s planning and development services department at (803) 545-3181.