Appendix D: Bicycle Count Program Strategy Background This memo outlines recommended strategies for developing a bicycle count program as part of Task 4 Needs Assessment. Designed as a supplement to the Countywide Bicycle Plan (“the Plan”), this memo focuses on developing counting strategies that can be implemented in the short-term and that support the Plan’s vision for Napa as a bicycle-friendly community with a world class bicycling system for all ages and abilities. The bicycle count program will assist Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) as it measures its progress towards achieving its goal of a 10 percent mode shift by 2035, as proposed by the draft Plan. This memo includes a brief review of the existing count programs in the county and provides recommendations for NVTA’s count program’s strategies and implementation.
Bicycle Count Programs: State of the Practice In recent years, municipal and regional planning agencies, and states throughout the United States have increased the amount of data they collect on their transportation systems. There has been a particularly large growth in bicycle and pedestrian data collection systems launched and expanded by planning agencies and states. This growth can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the development of automated data collection technologies, greater data management and processing capabilities, a broad interest in data-driven policymaking, greater interest in bicycling and walking generally, and the explicit inclusion and coverage of bicycle and pedestrian traffic volume data collection in the 2013 edition of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Traffic Monitoring Guide (TMG) and subsequent revisions. 1, 2
Federal Highway Administration. 2016.Traffic Monitoring Guide. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/tmguide/ The TMG provides guidance to State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) on how to monitor traffic on their road networks, including coverage of speed, volume, and weigh-in-motion. Traffic data collected by State DOTs and their local agency partners following the standards outlined in the TMG is submitted to FHWA for inclusion in their Travel Monitoring Analysis System (TMAS), which was recently updated to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic count data. While FHWA mandates that motorized traffic volume measurements be taken on a regular basis, there is not currently a similar mandate for bicycle or pedestrian traffic monitoring.
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