The City of Long Beach is looking for volunteers to assist with the 16th Annual Bike and Pedestrian Count. Every October, volunteers and City employees work together to manually count the number of bicyclists, pedestrians, and electric scooter riders across dozens of key intersections in Long Beach – and the more volunteers who sign up, the more locations the city can observe during the count. More information is available here.

Those interested in volunteering can sign up online now through Oct. 18, 2023. Volunteers must be available to participate in the count at one or more of the following times:

7 a.m. to 9 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023
4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023
Noon to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023

Volunteers can select their preferred location when signing up for their time slot. Volunteers will also receive bike and pedestrian count forms and instructions electronically by email. The completed count forms can be scanned and returned via email or returned by mail.

Thanks to the assistance of volunteers, the City collected data at 35 intersections in 2022 and aspires to surpass this number this year. Having started in 2008, the Long Beach Bike and Pedestrian Count holds the distinction of being 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.

The data collected during these counts provide important insight for transportation planners and traffic engineers to make informed decisions about the City’s transportation network. Counts are taken before and after the construction of active transportation infrastructure projects to determine the effectiveness and popularity of specific types of bikeways. Bike count data is also used to supplement safety statistics and enable the City to engage in targeted public safety campaigns.

Residents can find more information about the count, including a map of available intersections, by visiting the Bike and Pedestrian Count website.

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