Downtown Alliance - Salt Lake City, Utah

Count on cyclists: Number of bikers in Salt Lake City is growing

More cyclists are taking to Salt Lake City streets.

Volunteer counters logged nearly 5,500 cyclists at 12 intersections around the city during September — a 27 percent increase over the same time period and locations last year.

“We want to get a sense of how many bicyclists there are in the city and how bicycle use is changing,” said Becka Roolf, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, who was “pleasantly surprised” by the growth. Salt Lake City’s increase was higher than New York City’s, she said.

The increase doesn’t bring money, though it could be used to justify adding or improving facilities.

The count, the city’s second, is part of a national effort to estimate existing and future demand for bicycle services, according to the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, which helps agencies such as Salt Lake City conduct counts.

Without hard numbers, it’s difficult to justify funding and setting aside rights-of-way for cyclists, the organization notes. The project is sponsored by Alta Planning and Design, which focuses on building infrastructure for cycling and walking and the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Pedestrian and Bicycle Council.

Salt Lake City is committed to cycling: About 50 miles of new on-road bikeways and “green shared lanes” have recently been added. That helped the city gain “silver-level” status as a Bicycle Friendly Community in 2010 by the League of American Bicyclists. Roolf said the city wants to reach gold, and one way to get there is to increase the number of cyclists on the street.

“It’s the ultimate vote with your feet,” she said.

Sixty volunteers spent 160 hours counting cyclists at 16 locations — 12 of which were the same spots as last year. During the second week of September, they tracked bikers from 5-7 p.m. on weekdays and from noon to 2 p.m. on weekends.

The intersection with the highest number of cyclists was Sunnyside Avenue at Arapeen Drive — probably because both commuters and recreational cyclists use that route.

The lowest volume was at North Temple and Redwood Road; cyclists were likely avoiding the TRAX line construction.

The biggest jump in cyclists was seen at 900 West and 1700 South. Roolf attributes the bump to bike lane improvements on 1700 South.

Counters also logged whether cyclists wore helmets — encouraged, but not required by law — or rode on the sidewalk. The city forbids riding on sidewalks downtown.

The survey found 54 percent of riders wore helmets — rates were higher on roadways with high speed limits, such as Beck Street. About 30 percent rode on sidewalks, with high rates in Sugar House and on North Temple.

Places like Sunnyside had low rates of sidewalk riders. Roolf speculates cyclists may feel safer on roads because there are so many of them.

The count was coordinated by University of Utah student Andrew Coffey, an intern from the Hinckley Institute of Politics. Cyclists at the U. were also counted this year as the school finalizes a bicycle and pedestrian master plan.