Wireless Counters Coming to Area Trails to Track Usage


Schuylkill Trail along Kelly Drive // Photograph by Jeff Fusco

Schuylkill Trail along Kelly Drive // Photograph by Jeff Fusco


PlanPhilly
has the scoop on a slew of fancy new wireless counters that will debut along 12 area trails this spring. The goal is to get a better handle on how many people use the trails, and how the trails themselves are being used.

While some local trails have had counters for a few years now, the ones currently in place can’t differentiate between pedestrians and cyclists, and the data they collect has to be pulled manually—which, in the days of instant Netflix streaming, feels painfully archaic. “The continuous automated counters will differentiate between bicycles and pedestrians and will process data 24-7,” writes PlanPhilly blogger Christine Fisher. “The information will be sent to [the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission] in near-real-time, and DVRPC has plans to share the constantly updating counts on a website that is currently in the works.”

So, yes, you and I will have access to the info, too.

Read more about the project over at PlanPhilly.

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