Pedestrian and cycle counters installed across city
18 October 2016
Pedestrian and cycle counters have been installed around Aberdeen to accurately monitor numbers of people using pavements and cycleways.
The equipment, from Traffic Technology Ltd, includes 13 Eco Multi counters which have been installed beside strategic pavements which include off-road paths, dual-use pavements and segregated routes, and are on paths which connect residential areas to schools, employment areas, parks and riversides.
Some of the counters are on well-established routes while others are on new pavements or cycleways.
Aberdeen City Council Transport and Regeneration spokesman Councillor Ross Grant said: “We are spending £516million on major infrastructure projects including the Berryden Corridor, the A96 Dyce Park and Choose, the AWPR (B-T), and the third Don crossing, and miles and miles of pedestrian pavements and cycleways.
“It is beneficial to put in counters around the city to measure the numbers of either extra people using the pavements and cycleways or how people are using them differently with all the infrastructure projects.
“We can analyse the data collected to find out which are the most popular routes, how many extra people use the pavements when they are improved, and for future planning purposes.”
The data collected by the counters enables the City Council to understand how popular routes are, and it can also demonstrate the benefits of improvements such as localised widening, improved access arrangements, and lighting.
Where a new path has been installed, the counters provide data which enables the council to compare numbers of pedestrians and cyclists using the new path currently and in the future.
The innovative Eco-Multi accurately distinguishes between pedestrians and cycles on a single path and determines their direction, and a click and lock’system enables several units to be combined to provide up to sixteen channels for multi-direction, multi-count sites for combined vehicle, cycle and pedestrian monitoring if required.
Traffic Technology Ltd managing director Richard Toomey said: “The Eco Multi is ideal for this sort of use.
“It provides accurate data in all weather conditions and enables planners to produce reports that justify a particular route, whether it’s used by pedestrians, cyclists or vehicles, or a combination of all three.”