City of Vancouver Bicycle Monitoring ProgramCity of Vancouver Bicycle Monitoring ProgramITE Quad Conference, Vancouver, BCMay 1, 2009

Lisa Leblanc P EngLisa Leblanc, P.Eng.Greenways and Neighbourhood TransportationCity of Vancouver

OutlineOutline

• Vancouver’s Cycling Network• Vancouver s Cycling Network• Bicycle Monitoring Program

G l d Obj ti– Goal and Objectives– Manual Counts

P t C t– Permanent Counters– Portable Automatic Counters

• Recent Findings• Conclusions

Vancouver’s Cycling NetworkVancouver s Cycling Network

• Cycling walking and transit are highest• Cycling, walking and transit are highest priority modes

• 400 lane kilometers of bike routes• 60,000 trips per day, p p y• Highest volume location > 700 bikes in

Peak HourPeak Hour

Bike Network

Goal of MonitoringGoal of Monitoring

To improve our understanding of bicycle facility use, allowing us to plan for necessary improvements to and y pexpansion of the bicycle network.

Objectives of the ProgramObjectives of the Program

1 To track the growth or decline of bike trips along1. To track the growth or decline of bike trips along particular routes

2. To improve our understanding of:o p o e ou u de s a d g oa. hourly variations in bike tripsb. daily variations in bike tripsy pc. seasonal variations in bike trips

3. To improve the efficiency with which we collect data

4. To refine the peak hour factor for bikes

Tracking Growth and DeclineTracking Growth and Decline

• Baseline dataBaseline data– Existing routes– New routesNew routes

• Peak Hour - Manual Counts at all Bikeway intersections, and at intervals along off-street gpaths

• Seasonal variations• Variations due to Weather• Future Screenline

Manual Count Locations

Advantages of Manual CountsAdvantages of Manual Counts

• Easy to manage• Easy to manage• Easy Data Management• Relatively inexpensive

Disadvantages of Manual CountsDisadvantages of Manual Counts

• Weather• Weather• Reliability of Staff• Limited benefit without a meaningful Peak

Hour Factor

Permanent Counters – Pilot programPermanent Counters Pilot program

• Locations:• Locations:– Local Street Bikeway– Off-Street Bikeway– Bridgesg– Seawall

• Recreational and Commuter routes• Recreational and Commuter routes

Permanent Counters

Permanent Counters - EquipmentPermanent Counters Equipment

• Inductive Loops• Inductive Loops• Data logger

– 15 minute intervals– 1 year data storage capacity1 year data storage capacity

• Pocket PC for data retrieval

ZELT Inductive Loop, with Eco Twin loggerZELT Inductive Loop, with Eco Twin logger

Advantages of Permanent CountersAdvantages of Permanent Counters

• Relatively inexpensive• Relatively inexpensive• Low maintenance• Easily installed• Loads of dataLoads of data

Challenges with Permanent CountersChallenges with Permanent Counters

• Data retrieval• Data retrieval• Data management• Limited Options for Equipment

Portable Automatic CountersPortable Automatic Counters

• Selective Pneumatic Tubes• Selective Pneumatic Tubes• Testing the Equipment to determine

impact of Installation Conditions:– Weather– Road conditions

Motor vehicle volumes– Motor vehicle volumes

Selective Pneumatic TubesSelective Pneumatic Tubes

Advantages of Portable Automatic CountersAdvantages of Portable Automatic Counters

• Easy to install• Easy to install• Reliable• Low maintenance• PortablePortable

Disadvantages of Portable Automatic Countersg

• Pneumatic Tubes• Pneumatic Tubes– Limited useful life– Manufactured in Europe– Not possible to repair… so farp p

Recent FindingsRecent Findings

• Census• Census• Peak Hour City-Wide• Seasonal Variations• Daily VariationsDaily Variations

2006 Census – Journey to Work2006 Census Journey to Work

Peak Hour city-WidePeak Hour city Wide

Seasonal VariationsSeasonal VariationsMonthly Variation in Bike Volume

Ontario Bikeway (½ Block South of 10th Avenue Bikeway)

1200

1400

800

1000

of B

ikes

0 3

400

600

Num

ber o

211 24

0233 23

220

015

2121 99

0

200

Ju JulAu Se Oc No De Jaune

ulyAugust

September

October

November

December

January

Month

Average Daily Bike Volume Peak Hour

Daily VariationDaily VariationTotal Daily Bicycle Volume, September

Ontario Bikeway (½ Block South of 10th Avenue Bikeway)

1,600

1,800

1,200

1,400

Vol

ume

800

1,000

tion

al B

ike

V

400

600

Bidi

drec

t

0

200

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 301 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Day of the MonthRainWeekend

Bicycle Monitoring Program – next stepsBicycle Monitoring Program next steps

• Screenline Counts• Screenline Counts• Additional Permanent Counter Locations• Remote Data Retrieval• Data AnalysisData Analysis

– Refine Peak Hour Factor– Annual Report

ConclusionsConclusions

• Baseline Data• Baseline Data• Ongoing Monitoring

C ti t l t h l• Continue to explore technology• Data collection vs data processing vs data

analysis• Need Staff Committed to Monitoring, or…g,“Commit” your Staff…

Thank You