Ever get frustrated trying to navigate Kelly Drive on a beautiful afternoon run/bike ride?

(Not like we’d speak from experience…)

The Kelly Drive trail saw a whopping 663,201 biker/runners on the past year. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) placed permanent counters on 11 trails around Philly and just released year one of data. They’ll be using this data to figure out what’s most used and where bike facilities should be placed.

Top 5 running & biking trails in the region

The 5 trails with the highest combo of bicycle and pedestrian volumes for a one-year period are:

1. 663,201:  Schuylkill River Trail at Kelly Drive
2. 240,182: Chester Valley Trail
3. 208,180: Schuylkill River Trail at Pawlings Road
4. 208,114: Wissahickon Trail
5. 114,619: Cynwyd Heritage Trail

Here’s a map of the trails in the Greater Phila area:

whoa. so How do these counters work?

The bike & pedestrian counters combine a passive infrared sensor (body heat) with an inductive loop, which detects the metallic signature of bicycle wheels, to provide a count of pedestrian and cyclists, including their travel direction. This technology helps Philadelphia with real-time “bicycle barometers” that simultaneously collect data and encourage bicycle use with prominent visibility and digital displays.

Find out more about the DVRPC’s bicycle and pedestrian count program here.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher