Advancing non-motorist data collection

Walking and biking are popular on Cape Cod, which has miles of trails, scenic roadways, and sidewalks. Residents, visitors, and commuters use bike paths and sidewalks daily throughout the year.

The Cape Cod Commission is continuing and enhancing its efforts to collect non-motorist data across the region. Commission staff collect data continuously in specific areas using "eco-counters," portable infrared trackers that use heat sensing to count pedestrians and bicyclists.

Counters have been placed at a variety of locations, including rail trails, village centers, and pedestrian crossings.

Six counters in the Canal area are helping show the number of non-motorists that could benefit from shared-use paths on new Canal bridges. Counters show the canal paths are used year-round, with expected increases in the summer months. Counters in place on the Bourne and Sagamore bridges show that even in the winter months, people cross the bridges on foot. Staff is sharing data with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation as they work to advance the Cape Cod Bridges Project.

Data collected is also being used to support a study of parking and circulation in downtown Chatham, show use of a new hybrid pedestrian beacon near Goodwill Park in Falmouth, examine use of the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, and evaluate the need for better pedestrian accommodations near the Eastham/Orleans Rotary.

The public can now explore the data collected using a data viewer developed by Commission staff. Users can scroll across the map and select locations to view counts on Cape Cod's rail trails, sidewalks, and side paths.

Explore the data viewer: https://cccom.link/nmdc