My ride to work really counted today. It’s Super Tuesday, Australia’s largest ever visual bike count.
Super Tuesday is a national effort to collect data about bike riding to help local councils identify how and where bicycling facilities can be improved. Volunteers were placed at major road and path intersections, bike paths and other vantage points to count riders as they commuted to work.
The first Super Tuesday bike count took place in 2007 counting in the inner-city Melbourne area, as it did in 2008. In 2009 the count spread to regional Victoria and the City of Sydney, going national in 2010 and 2011.
For most of my ride I didn’t see anyone counting cyclists but when I turned off the Freeway shared path there was a young lady in an orange t-shirt taking note of everyone on two wheels. I smiled and nodded and continued on through to the Riverside Drive path where I saw another orange shirt. As I continued to ride alongside the river I saw about 6 or 7 volunteers in total before I headed back out of the city towards the studios in Como.
Super Tuesday is designed to complement the Commonwealth Census, and the surveys run on a regular or occasional basis by individual Councils and others agencies.
The Super Tuesday count will help to establish a regular and consistent measure of bike riding to show how many people are riding and where they are riding.
The annual Super Tuesday bike count aims to establish a reliable annual benchmark for bicycle commuting to allow those providing for cycling infrastructure to base their judgments on accurate, relevant and up to date information.
It’s good to know that my ride to work counted towards better cycling facilities today.
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I saw three this morning which was good as I changed my route for Super Tuesday. However as I ride contra-flow I do wonder if I am considered a commuter and hence counted.
Its Super Rodney!