About Arlington's Automatic Counters

Photo: Counter and Cyclist on Four Mile Run Trail Arlington County is establishing a system of permanent automatic counters that monitor bicycle and pedestrian numbers 24 hours a day at selected locations on multi-use trails. Collecting better data on usage and demand is essential to building long-term support for walking and cycling, and improving conditions for those who choose to walk and ride bikes. More information about the project can be found at the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project website.

The Bicycle & Pedestrian Counter Dashboard was developed to display counter data and allow the public to interact with it. The dashboard displays the total number of bicyclists and pedestrians counted at each location during a time period chosen by the dashboard user, and allows the user to set a number of parameters, such as mode of transportation, direction, and day(s) of the week. The number of "hits" for each counter can be graphed over time, and the data can be exported to an Excel file.

Factors That Can Affect Count Accuracy

Several factors can affect the data displayed on the Counter Dashboard, including machine types, installation dates, and downtime. We are working to make more information available about all factors that may affect the accuracy of counts.

Machine Types

Arlington's automatic counters are not all the same type of machine. Some machines are capable of distinguishing direction of travel, others are not. If your query includes direction of travel, locations that do not have that information will display "No Data." Some counters do not distinguish between bicyclists and pedestrians. If your query asks for the number of bicyclists only, or pedestrians only, those counters will display "No Data."

Machine Installation Dates

Arlington's automatic counters were not all installed at the same time. If the selected time period begins before a counter was installed, the result will not include the bicyclists and pedestrians that passed the counter location before installation.

Machine Downtime

Counters occasionally go offline for a variety of reasons. If a counter was offline for any reason during the selected time period, the result will not reflect bicyclists and pedestrians who passed the counter location during that period.

Installed Counters, Installation Dates, Models

Trail Counters:

Custis Rosslyn, October 2009, EcoMulti
Four Mile Run - piezo*, April 2012, MetroCountMC 5720
Four Mile Run - pyro*, March 2011, PyroBox
W&OD East Falls Church, December 2010, EcoCombo (in-ground)
W&OD Bon Air Park, December 2010, EcoCombo (large post)
Custis Bon Air Park, December 2010, EcoCombo (in-ground)
Key Bridge West, August 2011, EcoCombo (urban post, shared use sidewalk)
Key Bridge East, August 2011, EcoCombo (urban post, shared use sidewalk)
MVT Airport South, September 2011, EcoCombo (in-ground)
CC Connector, September 2011, EcoCombo (in-ground)
TR Island Bridge, September 2011, EcoCombo (large post)
W&OD Columbia Pike, October 2011, EcoCombo (in-ground)
Bluemont Connector, December 2012, EcoCombo (in-ground)
Ballston Connector, December 2012, EcoCombo (in-ground)
W&OD Bon Air West, December 2012, EcoCombo (large post)
Joyce Street SB, December 2012, (urban post, shared use sidewalk)
Joyce Street NB, December 2012 (urban post, shared use sidewalk)

*The "piezo" device counts only bicycles. Pedestrian values are calculated by subtracting the "piezo" count from the "pyro" count, which includes both bicycles and pedestrians.

Bike Lanes:

Wilson in the 2500 block, near Earl's, between N Cleveland and N Danville (Westbound)
Clarendon at N Danville near the Starbucks (Eastbound)
Military Rd in the 2500 block, near 25th Place N (Northbound)
Military Rd in the 2500 block, near 25th Place N (Southbound)
Quincy in the 1100 block, just N of the Library (Northbound)
Quincy in the 1100 block, just N of 11th Street N (Southbound)
Fairfax Dr in the 3600 block, near the Bank of America and dance studio (Westbound)
Fairfax Dr in the 3700 block, near St. George's Episcopal Church (Eastbound)
Crystal Dr, in the 1800 block, just S of 18th Street S (Northbound)
Crystal Dr, in the 2200 block, just N of 23rd Street S (Southbound)

Additional Counters:

Three "Pyrobox" style counters

Links and Resources

Data for Developers

Data from Arlington's automatic bike-pedestrian counters is available for application developers.

BikeArlington