This article was originally published by Christopher Carey on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has published the findings of a study on active travel in the city, with data revealing a 22 percent increase in cycling compared to 2017.
The count, which took place over several weekends in 2019, showed there was a significant upturn in the number of people walking and cycling in places where LADOT had implemented safety and complete street improvements.
It also showed that while women make up only 16 percent of people biking, there was a 120 percent increase in female riders on streets with dedicated bike paths.
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“What gets measured matters,” said LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds. “Thanks to this report, LADOT gained valuable insights into how people move through Los Angeles neighborhoods so that our investments can deliver the most effective improvements for people walking and biking.”
Demographics and data
The report also examined how transportation investments can create streets that feel safe and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities, and the data will be used to guide future pedestrian and bike infrastructure projects throughout the city.
Key findings included that forty percent of people walking were female. This increases to 44 percent on weekends.
The count showed a 73 percent increase in cycling ridership on Figueroa Street in downtown LA since the installation of the MyFigueroa streetscape project, compared to counts that took place in 2017.
The survey was one of the first large-scale tests of the Southern California Association of Governments’ recently launched Active Transportation Database, which provides ways for agencies to collect and store data for public use.
Data from the report will also be available on city websites such as NavigateLA and Los Angeles Open Data.
The transit agency’s next bike and walk count is scheduled for autumn 2021 and is expected to increase to 100 locations throughout the city.
LADOT will also track usage before and after transportation projects and programs are implemented.
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