Designing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Traffic Count Program to Estimate Performance Measures on Streets and Sidewalks in Blacksburg, VA

The authors developed and implemented a traffic count program in Blacksburg, Virginia to estimate performance measures of bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The authors deployed and validated automated counters at 101 count sites; the count sites consisted of 4 permanent reference sites and 97 short-duration count sites (~1 week of counts per site). In total the authors collected ~40,000 hours of bicycle and pedestrian counts during the year 2015. The authors used the counts to explore seasonal, daily, and hourly patterns of bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The authors also developed a set of day-of-year scaling factors based on the reference sites to annualize all short-duration counts to Annual-Average Daily Traffic (AADT) estimates. The authors explore how AADT varies by spatial location, street functional class, and level of supporting infrastructure. The traffic count campaign covers ~10% of the transportation network in Blacksburg. The authors developed a set of spatial models (i.e., direct-demand models) to allow for estimation of traffic volumes at locations without traffic counts. The authors close by discussing how future research could help develop best practices and a consistent set of protocols across regions, sates, and the country.

• Record URL:
  http://www.matsutc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/MATS-UTC-FINAL-REPORT-Hankey-Ped-Bike.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/34766
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

  School of Public and International Affairs
  Blacksburg, VA  United States  24061

  Virginia Center for Transportation Innovation and Research

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903

  Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability Center

  University of Virginia
  Charlottesville, VA  United States 

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hankey, Steve
  • Lu, Tianjun
  • Mondschein, Andrew
  • Buehler, Ralph
• Publication Date: 2016-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 59p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Annual average daily traffic; Bicycle counts; Pedestrian counts; Performance measurement; Spatial analysis; Time periods; Traffic volume
• Geographic Terms: Blacksburg (Virginia)
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01663173
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC33
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 20 2018 5:09PM