Bicycle and pedestrian-counting project wins CTS partnership award

(Feature image courtesy Michael McCarthy, Center for Transportation Studies.)

Earlier this year, we wrote about the Minnesota Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Initiative, a project that developed guidelines and protocols to help transportation planners accurately count non-motorized traffic. This groundbreaking research involved a diverse partnership of state and local officials, University of Minnesota faculty, and private and nonprofit organizations.

On Wednesday, April 23, the project team (photo above) was honored with an award from the Center for Transportation Studies. Team members accepted the CTS Research Partnership Award in a ceremony at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis. The award is given each year to projects that have resulted in “significant impacts on transportation” and that draw on “the strengths of their diverse partnerships” to achieve their results.

The video below, produced by CTS, explains the importance of the project. MnDOT is now in the process of implementing the research results by installing permanent counters and using portable counters in select locations around the state. MnDOT plans to use the information for a variety of purposes, including planning, safety analysis, investment planning and quality-of-life analysis.

Project team members will present their research findings at the North American Travel Monitoring Exposition and Conference in July. The conference’s focus is on “Improving Traffic Data Collection, Analysis, and Use.”

*Bonus: Read about last year’s Research Partnership Award-winner, a MnDOT-led, multi-state effort to reduce low-temperature cracking in asphalt pavements.