By Megan Burks
County Health Counting Bike Trips
The San Diego County Health Department has installed 28 electronic sensors that count bicyclists and monitor their habits – for example, whether they use routes for pleasure on weekends or commuting on weekdays. The data could help inform regional transportation planners as they update and expand bike infrastructure.
KPBS’s Tom Fudge reports:
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“Safety clearly makes a difference when it comes to motivating cyclists. The new bike data show that bike paths, which keep bikes separate from car traffic, are the most popular. Unmarked bike routes come in second, while bike lanes, which are marked with stripes of paint, come in last, probably because so many of them are on roads heavily used by cars.” |
Fudge also reports the project employs human counters to collect information that a sensor won’t pick up. Those counters have found 80 to 90 percent of cyclists are men, likely because current infrastructure doesn’t ensure safety from cars.
A representative from the project appeared on KPBS Evening Edition. Watch the video and see where the sensors were installed here.
Follow Tom Fudge @TFudgeSD.
Filner Signs Foreclosure Ordinance
This week, new Mayor Bob Filner signed his first ordinance: the Property Value Protection Ordinance. It creates a registry to help ensure banks take care of their foreclosed properties.
Supporters of the ordinance say bank-owned foreclosures have become a blight on low-income neighborhoods.
Follow KPBS’s Katie Orr at @SDKatieOrr.
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