Counting along the trail

This mobile Eco-Counter Pyro box will collect data on walkers and bicyclists (and maybe a deer or two!) along the Shared Use Trail west of Union Street during the coming week.

If you’ve been walking the Shared Use Trail in Manchester recently, you might have noticed some interesting little boxes strategically located along the heavily-travelled as well as the lesser-known segments of the trails.

Suzann Flowers, Transportation Planner for the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, shared with the Mirror a little bit about where, why, and how this county-based “Transportation” study is looking at non-motorized ways of getting around the community.

“One of the biggest reasons we pushed for a non motorized counting program, was so we can work with local communities to secure federal transportation funds,” Flowers explained.

Manchester, for example, can receive Surface Transportation Block Grant Rural Funds, as well as State TEDFD Funds, a state pool allocated to rural communities. “Those funds, actually helped with the recent Dutch Drive repaving,” she added. “That’s our goal–to work with the village to get those federal transportation dollars back to the community.”

The Eco-Counter Pyro box counts those who pass by with an infrared tracking mechanism. There is no photograph or video taken with these counters. “When someone passes through that invisible line, it counts as one individual,” Flowers continued. “Could we be counting deer? Of course, we may catch a few–any warm body that creates interruptions to the signal will count. However, we’re positioning them toward the sidewalk, where we’re not likely to capture motor vehicles, or other passing traffic.”

WATS has been collecting pedestrian and bicycle count data throughout Washtenaw County since 2016. Earlier this year, the study began doing counts in Manchester at the end of February, and was stopped short by the COVID-19 outbreak in mid-March. They just resumed counting a couple of weeks ago so they can begin to track seasonal data. One thing they have learned already, is that traffic on the trail is not limited to the weekends, as they had initially expected. Usage is high all week long, with so many people staying closer to home and looking for more recreational outlets.

The stated goal of the WATS pedestrian and bicycle count program is to:

• Evaluate the impact of non-motorized improvements, before and after projects are constructed.

• Gather walking and bicycling data that is not available from Census data, including recreational and other non-work trips.

• Provide a tool to inform stakeholders and the public about travel patterns and non-motorized facility use.

• Assist local stakeholders with pedestrian and bicycle planning.

• Aid in prioritizing non-motorized infrastructure and planning projects.

• Secure additional funding for non-motorized facilities.

• Better inform winter maintenance plans.

The study data is showing not only that people are using the facility, but that they are frequently staying on the trail, and at a much higher rate than Pre-COVID-19. Usage is also higher during the week than it previously was based on the February/March numbers. As they continue to collect data, the WATS study will be able to track how much the sidewalks and trails in the village are being used for going to and from school, and the ebb and flow of people being out and about.

Earlier this year, counters were placed on the crosswalks at Main & Division Streets, and at the crosswalk on Ann Arbor Hill in front of Chi-Bro Park. Numbers at that time were lower; between 150-200 users per week. Over the past few weeks, counters have been placed at the intersection of the trail and Hibbard Street, at the sidewalk at Main & Hibbard, at Main and Woodland Way, on the asphalt section of the trail near the entrance to Chi-Bro park, at North Washington Street and the trail, and near where the trail intersects with Union Street, with as many as 840 people counted in a week’s time.

Flowers noted that with this solid evidence of increased use, it substantiates to not only local boards, but the citizenry in general, that the use of governmental funds for creation and maintenance of these trails and others, is a worthwhile endeavor. “We can also start to make the case for long-term and seasonal maintenance,” she commented. “If necessary, we can shift resources to make sure citizens have somewhere to go and something to do.”

This trail counter is somewhat surreptitiously situated on the historical marker on North Washington Street. No photos or videos are collected by these devices. The infrared light only registers the number of passing walkers or bicyclists along the trail.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.