Des Moines Parks and Recreation is looking
for over 100 volunteers to participate in the National Bicycle and Pedestrian
Documentation Project.
Volunteers will be responsible for counting bicyclists and
pedestrians and handing out survey cards at 20+ spots throughout the City during a set 2-hour time slot. Locations include trails, sidewalks and bike lanes. A short 10-15 minute
training is offered before each session. This
year’s dates are May
17th, May 18th and May 21st.
Volunteers will be rewarded for their time with their
choice of a free bike rental at Gray’s Lake Park for each time they volunteer or free 2017 Des Moines Mayor's
Annual Ride registration for volunteering for more than one shift. To
sign up for a shift, please visit http://www.dmparks.org
or contact parksvolunteer@dmgov.org.
Des Moines has
participated in the project since September 2011, which provides
valuable data that helps the City obtain grant funding for current recreational
trails and on-street bicycle facilities, evaluates
usage of current amenities, and helps identify locations of future facility locations.
The National Bicycle and Pedestrian
Documentation Project provides a standardized methodology for counting and
surveying bicyclists and pedestrians. The data compiled during this the count times is
extrapolated through a formula that considers time of day, day of the week, and
local climate to estimate annual counts.