2023 Bike And Pedestrian Count Volunteers Needed

LONG BEACH, CA — Every October, volunteers and Long Beach city employees team up to manually count the number of bicyclists, pedestrians and electric scooter riders at key intersections across the city.

This year, the city is looking for more volunteers to assist with the 16th Annual Bike and Pedestrian Count to reach even more locations than before.

“Understanding how our community is using public right-of-way helps guide City transportation and traffic planning,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “It is critical in supporting the safety of all commuters on city streets. I encourage folks to dedicate a few hours of their day to volunteer.”

Volunteers must be available to participate in the count at one or more of the following times:

• Thursday, Oct. 19 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• Thursday, Oct. 19 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 21 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

When signing up for a time slot, volunteers can select their preferred location. After signing up, bike and pedestrian count forms and instructions will be sent via email and can be scanned and returned via email or physical mail.

In 2022, the city collected data at 35 intersections and is aiming to surpass that number this year. The Long Beach count started in 2008 and is one of the longest-standing counts of its kind in the country.

"The City attributes the yearly success of this endeavor to the help of dedicated volunteers," officials said.

Data collected during the count provides data for transportation planners and traffic engineers to make informed decisions about Long Beach's transportation network. The goal of the count is to determine how effective and popular specific types of bikeways are before and after construction of transportation infrastructure projects, the city said.

Officials also use data collected from the count to supplement safety statistics for target public safety campaigns.