Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike/Ped

FHWA Will Help Cities Get Serious About Measuring Biking and Walking

This bike counter in San Francisco gives planners reliable, up-to-date data about biking rates. Photo: Aaron Bialick/Streetsblog SF
This counter in San Francisco gives planners reliable, up-to-date data about bike trips on Market Street. Photo: Aaron Bialick/Streetsblog SF
Automatic cyclist and pedestrian counters aren't common in U.S. cities — but they should be. Photo: via The Fast Lane Blog

The lack of good data on walking and biking is a big problem. Advocates say current metrics yield a spotty and incomplete picture of how much, where, and why Americans walk and bike. The U.S. Census only tells us about commuting -- a fairly small share of total trips. The more detailed National Household Transportation Survey comes with its own drawbacks: It's conducted infrequently and doesn't provide useful data at a local scale.

Without a good sense of people's active transportation habits, it's hard to draw confident conclusions not only about walking and biking rates, but also about safety and other critical indicators that can guide successful policy at the local level. A new program from the Federal Highway Administration aims to help fill the gap.

U.S. DOT announced today that FHWA will help local transportation planners gather more sophisticated data on walking and biking. The agency has selected metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) in 10 regions -- Providence, Buffalo, Richmond, Puerto Rico, Palm Beach, Fresno, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Memphis -- to lead its new “Bicycle-Pedestrian Count Technology Pilot Program.”

FHWA says the program will provide funding for equipment to measure biking and walking trips. Writing on U.S. DOT's Fast Lane blog, FHWA Deputy Administrator Gregory Nadeau adds that "each MPO will receive technical assistance in the process of setting up the counters; uploading, downloading and analyzing the data; and --most importantly-- using the data to improve the planning process in their community."

The first counts will be available in December. Following the initial pilot, a second round of regions may be chosen to participate, Nadeau writes.

This would be an enormous improvement over what they do in Cleveland, where I live, as well as many other regions: recruit volunteers to stand at intersections with clipboards once a year and count cyclists by hand.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

‘We’re Not Copenhagen’ Is No Excuse Not to Build a Great Biking And Walking City

A team of researchers identified eight under-the-radar cities leading the local active transportation revolution — and a menu of strategies that other communities can and should steal.

June 30, 2025

Monday’s Headlines, Ranked

New reports rank the best cities for biking and the best complete streets policies. Plus, the robotaxi wars have begun.

June 30, 2025

Washington State Is About To Have the First Pro-‘Woonerf’ Law in America

Washington state is making it legal for cities to have people-centered streets in a first-in-the-nation law.

June 30, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Doomed

Philadelphia transit is falling off the fiscal cliff, with other major cities not far behind. And the effects of service cuts on their economies could be brutal.

June 27, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Why We Need ‘Universal Basic Mobility’

In a very special podcast, we’re joined by the great Madeline Brozen of UCLA to talk about how guaranteed transit lowers people's stress.

June 26, 2025
See all posts