(Columbus - September 8, 2011) The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) is seeking volunteers to assist with bicycle and pedestrian counts at selected locations in central Ohio on Wednesday, September 28. The counts will take place from 7-9 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. MORPC encourages any community interested in conducting their own counts to do so during the same time frame.

One of the greatest challenges facing the bicycle and pedestrian field is the lack of documentation on how many people are cycling and walking. Without accurate and consistent figures, it is difficult to measure the positive benefits of bicycle and pedestrian investments, especially when compared to other types of transportation such as the automobile and transit.

Volunteers are needed to fill nearly 50 time slots. A map of the locations is located online at http://morpc.org/trans/BikePedCount_location_map.pdf. Volunteers are asked to register either online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/fall1255 or by contacting Joe Fish at jfish@morpc.org or 614-233-4123. Once registered, volunteers will receive a map of their specific location as well as forms and instructions to be used for the count. First-time volunteers will attend a training session that will be offered Thursday, September 22 at 4:00 p.m. at the MORPC office, 111 Liberty Street, Suite 100 in Columbus. Volunteers from other communities are welcome to attend the training as well.

"The counts are an important aspect of our ongoing effort to understand bicycling and walking trends in the Mid-Ohio region and nationally," said Joe Fish, MORPC Associate Planner.

MORPC follows the methodology established by the Institute of Transportation Engineers in conducting ongoing bicycle-pedestrian traffic counts. The data collection serves the goals of MORPC's Complete Streets policy as well as the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Transportation's policy statement on bicycle and pedestrian accomodation. For more information on bicycle and pedestrian documentation and to view past reports, visit http://www.morpc.org/transportation/bicycle_pedestrian/project.asp.