As the city moves forward with implementation of the Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies and its Climate Action Plan, a monitoring strategy that counts how many people are walking or biking along our sidewalks, roads, and pathways is needed to ensure that the strategies are being implemented as intended, and to determine whether the plan is achieving its goals. In addition, a monitoring program may be required to access provincial and federal funding aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In April of 2017 the Public Works Department submitted a report to the Standing Policy Committee on Infrastructure Renewal and Public Works outlining a strategy for monitoring pedestrian and cyclist traffic and reporting on the city’s progress towards the goals set out in the Pedestrian and Cycling Strategies.The report notes that the 207 Pedestrian and Cycling Monitoring Program was only partially funded by the 2017 Pedestrian and Cycling Program capital budget ($50,000) and was approved for one year only. An operating budget of $80,000 is recommended to ensure continued operation of the monitoring program.
We are suggesting an annual budget of $80,000 per year for the collection of pedestrian and cyclist traffic data and production of an annual pedestrian and cycling account/annual report, to be taken out of the $250,000 annual budget for the Transportation Master Plan.
More Information
Pedestrian and Cycling Monitoring Program – Public Works Department Report
- City of Calgary Bike Data Portal & Annual Report Cards
- City of Vancouver: Walking and Cycling in Vancouver: 2016 Report Card