Ever wonder how many bikes are on campus? Well the University of Oregon Transportation and Livability Student Group LiveMove has set out to answer just that question, with the help of a bike counting system and visual display.
The device will track the number of bikes that pass along 13th and Kincaid at the entrance to campus and show the daily total bike counts on an electronic display.
The project was approved by the University’s Campus Planning Committee in April of 2014 and is expected to be finished by winter term. It will be the second permanent bike counter in the State of Oregon, and the first on a college campus anywhere in the U.S.
“The bike counter project itself came together because LiveMove students made it happen,” said Marc Schlossberg, Professor of planning public policy and management, Associate Director for the National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC), Co-Director of the Sustainable Cities Intuitive (SCI) and the Faculty Adviser for LiveMove.
The device uses inductive loop technology. Involving an electromagnetic communication system that uses magnets to induce an electrical current in a wire; in this case, to detect bikes.
It is possible that smaller methods of transportation, such as skateboards or skates, could occasionally set the counter off as well.
“Essentially these are the same sensors used at traffic signals. Every time a metal object passes over the loop sensor it disrupts the field in a way that the electronics determine there is an object over the sensor. In the case of bicycles, the sensor has to be set to a very high sensitivity as bicycles do not have a lot of metal to detect,” said Colin Gibson, Vice President of Product Development at Diamond Traffic Products.
Gibson has done the wiring for the bike counter’s cabinet and is currently working on calibrating the system over the next few weeks as more equipment is being ordered for the project.
The total cost of the project is $40,000 with the majority of funds coming from fundraisers and donations. Campus Operations has conducted the majority of the construction work for the project, which has helped keep costs down.
A goal of the display is to encourage students and faculty to bike to campus.
“Whether you’re on a bike or driving by, or walking by, it communicates and legitimizes the use of a bicycle for normal transportation,” said Schlossberg.
Diamond Traffic Products, a manufacturer of similar counters for vehicles, has worked with LiveMove on the project and provided the group with the counter and display at a discount of $17,785. In addition, the company has provided consulting and supervision for its installation.
A lab within the UO Geography Department known as InfoGraphics has agreed to set up and host data collecting servers for the display. The group has experience with campus related projects as they were responsible for the creation of the University’s campus maps.
Ken Kato, Associate Director and Campus GIS Program Coordinator is currently drafting a proposal for the class that will use the data from this counter and analyze it. Kato hopes it will be available spring term.
“If you’re at all curious about how that data is being used to sort inform called a smart city, a smart campus, society of the future, society and sensors. If you’re at all curious about that, then I think you’d like this class,” said Kato.
The National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) has agreed to help fund the class upon its approval.
A press release from LiveMove and Diamond Traffic Products will be released to the public upon the project’s completion.
Those interested in getting involved with LiveMove or learning more about the project can look up the group on their website and Facebook page.
“(Students) should care about this project if they’re interested in suitability and reducing dependency on automobiles,“ said Emily Eng, a Planning Associate with Campus Planning and Real Estate (CPRE).