Volunteers needed for May Bike Ped Project

Jenny Richmond
Mon April 18 2016
Posted Apr 18, 2016
11,370

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project (Bike Ped).

We hope you’ll join us for this year’s project! The City of Des Moines, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, annually participates in the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project. This effort provides a standardized methodology for counting and surveying bicyclists and pedestrians.The data compiled from these counts are extrapolated through a formula that considers time of day, day of the week, and local climate in order to estimate our City’s annual user counts.

Join Us in 2016!

Volunteersare rewarded for their time with a choice of a free bike rental at Gray’s Lake Park for each time they volunteer orreceiving a free 2017 Des Moines Mayor's Annual Ride registration for volunteering for more than one spot. Most locations will work best with two volunteers (one counting and one distributing survey cards), so we encourage you to sign up with family ora friendfor even more fun!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THESE TIMES

May 17 and 18th - 4:15pm - 7:30pm
May 21st - 11:15am - 2:30pm

Click the Volunteer Now! link to sign up

Why is this project important?

This information is extremely valuable for identifying and prioritizingwhere new bicycle and pedestrian facilities should be constructed, evaluating the effectiveness of such facilities, and applying for grant funding to maintain existing facilities and build new connections.

The Basics

Bike Ped counts provide valuable data that helps the City obtain grant funding for multi-modal recreational trails and on-street bicycle facilities, while also helping to identify where new bicycle and pedestrian facilities should be constructed and evaluating the effectiveness of such facilities. We will be counting at approximately
28 spots on 3 different days.

What to Expect

Each session begins with a short training held at the Parks & Rec office (1551 E. MLK Pkwy). You will receive your Volunteer Packet containing all needed information and we will review the counting form, survey handout and all other details. This is a great refresher for repeat volunteers and a necessary overview for new volunteers.
Following the short training, volunteers will head to their site. During the 2-hour session, volunteers will count trail users (on a form provided to you) and hand out survey cards. At the end of your session, please return your Volunteer Packet and count form. If you volunteered for more than one session, you may return all materials at the end of your last session. Most locations will work best with two volunteers (one counting and one distributing survey cards), so we encourage you to sign up with family and friends for even more fun.

Thank You!

Volunteers will be rewarded for their time with a choice of either receiving a free bike rental at Gray’s Lake Park for each time they volunteer or receiving a free 2017 Des Moines Mayor's Annual Ride registration for volunteering for more than one spot!

Notes

Please visit our project website at https://www.dmgov.org/Departments/Parks/Pages/BikePed.aspx for everything from your Volunteer Packet to past years’ data.
Count locations have been divided in to three groups. We appreciate your time at any spot, but if you have flexibility, we encourage you to sign up for a higher priority * location that is still available. (* All locations are a priority, but some will provide data that is more urgently needed for upcoming efforts than others. Because there is a chance all spots may not be filled, we have created these groups.)
This year we have added four “Floater” spots each day in the volunteer options. If you have no location preference and flexibility with travel to and from your site, please consider registering as a floater to help cover unexpected open spots.

Questions?

If more project-specific information would be helpful, please contact Jenny Richmond, Park Planner at (515) 248-6360 or jbrichmond@dmgov.org. For volunteer-specific questions, please contact Callie Le’au Courtright, Recreation Supervisor at (515) 248-6380 or parksvolunteer@dmgov.org.