Calling all volunteers: Help tally people walking & bicycling

Registration is open and volunteers are still needed to help count the number of people who walk or ride bicycles to their destinations during a three-day survey starting Tuesday, Sept. 27. 

Volunteer support is vital to the success of this project, and about 400 people are needed for the count. In 2015, volunteers tallied more than 74,000 bicyclists and pedestrians in communities across Washington.

For this ninth annual survey, Cascade and the Washington State Department of Transportation are partnering with Washington Bikes to help count the number of people bicycling and walking Tuesday, Sept. 27, through Thursday, Sept. 29.

“The data from this survey helps communities in many ways,” said Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar. “Volunteers are a key piece of the collection process – we couldn’t do this work without them.”

Data collected in the count is used by state and local agencies to estimate demand; measure the benefit of bicycle and pedestrian project investments; and improve policies, project designs and funding opportunities. As an example, the city of Bellingham used count data to monitor bicycle and pedestrian transportation trends for its award-winning Alabama Street Corridor Multimodal Safety Improvement project.

"Cascade and Washington Bikes have ambitious goals to double number of riders in statewide counts and events by 2021," said Cascade Executive Director Elizabeth Kiker. "These short-term counts allow us to measure our success and continue to work towards safe, connected and convenient bike routes all over the state of Washington."

Get involved

Volunteer to count in your community.

To learn more, visit WSDOT’s website or email Jeff Aken, Cascade Bicycle Club Regional Planning Director or call 206-939-4301.

Participating communities

WSDOT and the Cascade Bicycle Club are asking volunteers from across the state to perform the counts in nearly 60 communities including Anacortes, Bainbridge Island, Battle Ground, Bayview, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bothell, Bremerton, Burien, Burlington, Concrete Ellensburg, Everett, Federal Way, Ferndale, Gig Harbor, Issaquah, Kelso, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, La Conner, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Longview, Lyman, Lynden, Mercer Island, Milton, Mount Vernon, Mountlake Terrace, Oak Harbor, Olympia, Orting, Parkland, Pasco, Pullman, Puyallup, Redmond, Renton, Richland, Seattle, Sedro-Woolley, Shoreline, Skagit County, Snoqualmie, Spokane, Spokane Valley, Sumner, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Reservation, Tacoma, Tukwila, University Place, Vancouver, Vashon Island, Walla Walla, Wenatchee and Yakima.

WSDOT’s count is part of the National Documentation Project, an annual bicycle and pedestrian count and survey effort sponsored by the Institute of Transportation Engineers Pedestrian and Bicycle Council. The count will also help measure WSDOT’s progress toward the goal of increasing bicycling and walking to reduce the number of vehicle miles driven.