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The 2010 Bike Walk Twin Cities Count Results  

Bike Walk Twin Cities Count Reports 2008 - Present

"Three years ago I bought a house closer to work so I could walk. I don't like to drive and I save the cost of the car note, insurance, etc. I could have bought a car, but instead, I bought a house."- Jacara Warfield

Bike Walk Twin Cities (BWTC), a program of Transit for Livable Communities, is part of a nationwide effort to compile reliable, year-over-year data about nonmotorized transportation-- people who get around by bicycling or walking. This page presents results from the annual count of bicycling and walking, as well as other findings from the increasingly robust measurement effort. Please scroll down to read the latest; bookmark this page to more easily check back for updates. 

In fall 2007, along with local partners and a host of volunteers, Bike Walk Twin Cities initiated annual September counts on weekdays from 4‐6 pm at locations across the Twin Cities, including 31 benchmarking locations. The 2010 count marks the fourth year of data collection and is a milestone for the pilot program. The PDFs at the top of the page relate the key findings. See below links to additional tables and maps that support these documents and provide greater geographical detail.

"The rates of bicycling and walking are up in the Twin Cities, even in locations without new bicycling and walking infrastructure. However, the data for locations with new facilities show dramatic increases in bicycling and walking. Overall, BWTC has funded new infrastructure projects that will add more than 90 miles of new bike ways and sidewalks in the Twin Cities area. At the time of the 2010 counts, very few BWTC-funded infrastructure projects were open. By the time of the 2011 counts, several projects started in 2010 will be fully open and several more new projects will begin or complete construction. As these projects are opened and become familiar to residents, rates of bicycling and walking should rise as well."
--from the BWTC Count Report for 2007-2010

More ways to count nonmotorized transportation

In addition to the annual September counts, since February 2009 BWTC has coordinated monthly counts at six locations to gauge seasonal rates of bicycling and walking. The monthly counts also track how many cyclists use helmets and use lights after dark.

In the summer of 2010, BWTC also began deploying automated counters that track the rate and direction of travel. The 24-hour data from these counters provide the ability to more accurately correlate 2-hour count data to overall rates of bicycling and walking traffic.

BWTC also conducts surveys of people bicycling and walking to gather information about the purpose and length of nonmotorized trips.

"I have at my disposal a remarkable system of trails and a pro-bike culture that I'm proud to be a part of. . . . Twin Citians have all of this in their own backyard. They should appreciate it, and do their part to keep Portland from sneaking back into first place as America's most biking city.-Peter Bretl

Maps, charts, and other data about bicycling and walking

2007-2010 overall maps and charts (PDFs)

Geographical maps and charts comparing 2007 and 2010 2-hour counts (PDFs) 

2007-2010 count tables