Volunteers posted at intersections around Durango are counting bikers and walkers this week as part of a national effort to collect data on pedestrian traffic.
City officials solicited dozens of residents earlier this month as part of a biennial count of how many people walk and bike through 11 busy intersections scattered around Durango. The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project started both nationwide and in Durango about 10 years ago to collect more quantifiable information about bicycle and pedestrian traffic usage and demand, according to the project’s website.
City staff members have used the information collected by volunteers to demonstrate the effectiveness of pedestrian and bicycle traffic safety measures, said Assistant City Manager Amber Blake. It can also help decision-makers, like members of Durango’s Multimodal Advisory Board or city councilors, validate a pedestrian or bicycle safety project, she said.
“That helps us say, ‘You know, there’s a need,’” Blake said. “That helps the Multimodal Advisory Board take the data and add on to another reason why we’re prioritizing a project the way we are.”
The intersections being counted are:
East Second Avenue and 15th Street.Main Avenue and 32nd Street.Florida Road (County Road 240) and East Animas Road (County Road 250).East Third Avenue and Florida Road.West Third Avenue and West Park Avenue.Main Avenue and 22nd Street.Camino del Rio and Ninth Street.U.S. Highway 160 and Three Springs Boulevard.East Eighth Avenue and College Drive.Camino del Rio and 12th Street.East Eighth Avenue and Third Street.The most popular nonmotorized intersections from 2009 to 2017 were at East Second Avenue and 15th Street, West Third Avenue and West Park Avenue and Camino del Rio and Ninth Street. Volunteers counted more than 1,000 weekly crossings at each of the top three intersections in 2017.
The overall trend across the city is that bicycle and pedestrian traffic is on the rise, but specific results vary. For example, volunteers counted fewer than 200 crossings in a week at the intersection of U.S. Highway 160 and Three Springs Boulevard every other year from 2009 to 2017. In the same time, bicycle and pedestrian traffic at East Eighth Avenue and College Drive fell from more than 600 crossings in a week to fewer than 400.
People have volunteered for many of the 77 two-hour counting slots at the various locations around town, but city staff still have availability on Saturday. Anyone interested in volunteering can call 375-4901.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
