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Bicycle / Pedestrian Resources – Database
OVERVIEW • WALKABLE COMMUNITIES • REPORTS • DATABASE
Overview • About the Data • Access the Database • Contributors
About the Data
The approximately 500 counts in this initial edition of the database include over 100 locations in 26 communities. The municipalities, trails, and named locations included in the database are listed below. Note that most intersections in the database are not known by formal names.

Almost all weekday counts were done on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays, which are considered typical weekdays, rather than on Mondays and Fridays, which are used more often for vacation days or holidays. Some counts were performed on weekends and holidays, and are noted as such, for example, "Monday-Holiday."

Counts were usually conducted when the weather was suitable for outdoor activity. Some counts were conducted in less desirable weather conditions, such as strong winds or rain. The weather information is taken from the count sheets, if available, or from historical data. If there is no available weather information, the weather is described as "not available."

The following roads have changed since these counts began:
  • In Boston, Charles Street changed from one-way northbound toward Charles Circle to one-way southbound toward Beacon Street.
  • In Cambridge:
    • Boylston Street was renamed JFK Street in 1981. All counts in this database use "JFK Street."
    • There was a rotary in Kendall Square before the reconstruction that began in 1981.
    • Lafayette Square (Massachusetts Avenue, Main Street, and Columbia Street) was reconstructed in 2008.
The following facilities were opened during the time these data were collected:
  • Pierre Lallement Southwest Corridor Trail
  • Dr. Paul Dudley White Path (extended)
  • Dr. Paul Dudley White pedestrian ramp at the Harvard Bridge
  • Minuteman Commuter Bikeway
Bicycling the wrong way on a one-way street is noted as an illegal movement.

About the Downloadable Data
Data from the database may be downloaded; the downloaded data are in CSV file format. This section describes the fields (columns) in the CSV file. The fields are as follows:

BP_LOC_ID - ID number of count location.

COUNT_ID - Chronological rank of count, alphabetized by municipality. Lower numbers indicate older counts, while higher numbers indicate more recent ones.

MUNICIPALITY - The municipality in which the count was recorded.

FACILITY_NAME - If the count was done at a location with a proper name (such as Kenmore Square), or is a facility, such as the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, that is noted here.

CNT_LOC_DESCRIPTION - Description of the count location (for example, nearby facilities or streets).

STREET_1, STREET_2, STREET_3, STREET_4, STREET_5, STREET_6 - The street(s) and/or trail(s) on or at which the count was taken.

CNT_DESCRIPTION - – Miscellaneous information (comments) about the count.

TEMPERATURE - Approximate temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) on the day of the count. Not always gauged to exact degree, often estimated. Daily averages from the online version of the Old Farmer’s Almanac (www.almanac.com/weatherhistory) measured at Logan International Airport have been used for counts with no recorded temperature. About 40 percent of the recorded temperatures are averages from the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

SKY - Approximate weather recorded at the time of the count: sunny (1), partly cloudy (2), overcast (3), precipitation (4). The value -9999 indicates that weather conditions were not recorded.

FACILITY_TYPE - Type of count location: street intersection, street segment, trail intersection, or trail segment. Intersection counts tracked the turning movements of users. A "trail intersection" is the intersection of a trail and a street. Segment counts do not include turning movements. For most segment count location descriptions, Street_1 is the street counted, and Street_2 and Street_3 are the nearest cross streets. For a segment count, the term "all" indicates that the count includes traffic in both directions along the segment.

COUNT_TYPE - Bicycle (B), pedestrian (P), jogger (J), skater or rollerblader (S), baby carriage (C), wheelchair (W), and other (O).

FROM_ST_NAME - Name of the origin street or trail.

FROM_ST_DIR - The direction of travel of the user entering the intersection: northbound (NB), southbound (SB), eastbound (EB), westbound (WB).

TO_ST_NAME - Name of the destination street or trail.

TO_ST_DIR - The direction of travel of the user exiting the intersection: northbound (NB), southbound (SB), eastbound (EB), westbound (WB).

COUNT_DATE - The date on which the count was taken, in day-month-year (dd-MON-yyyy) format.

COUNT_DOW - The day of the week on which the count was taken: Sunday (Su), Monday (M), Tuesday (Tu), Wednesday (W), Thursday (Th), Friday (F), or Saturday (Sa). "Hol" indicates a holiday.

CNT_0630, CNT_0645, ..., CNT_2045 - Traffic count for a 15-minute interval, beginning with the indicated time. For example, the CNT_0630 field records the count for the period 6:30 AM to 6:45 AM. An empty value (as opposed to a 0 value) indicates that no count was taken for a given 15-minute interval.

CNT_TOTAL - Sum of the CNT_0630 through CNT_2045 fields.

Abbreviations Used in the Data
The following abbreviations are used in the data, particularly in the FACILITY_NAME field.
  • Dr. P.D. White Path - Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path
  • BU - Boston University
  • Som. - Somerville
  • Mem. - Memorial
  • Comm. - Commonwealth
  • Hwy. - Highway
  • Rte. - Route
  • Br. - Bridge
  • Apt. - Apartment
  • Ctr. - Center
  • ROW - Right of Way
Notes
  • "Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path" and "Esplanade" are interchangeable between the BU Bridge and Museum of Science.
  • Memorial Drive and the Esplanade are both considered part of the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path.
  • The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway is bisected by an intersection at Arlington Center which makes it difficult to track path users.
Municipalities
  • Adams
  • Arlington
  • Bedford
  • Belmont
  • Boston
  • Brookline
  • Cambridge
  • Cheshire
  • Easthampton
  • Edgartown
  • Falmouth
  • Framingham
  • Groton
  • Hudson
  • Lanesborough
  • Lexington
  • Marblehead
  • Marlborough
  • Milford
  • Newton
  • Northampton
  • Orleans
  • Somerville
  • Southwick
  • Waltham
  • Watertown
Named Locations
  • Anderson Memorial Bridge
  • Arlington Center
  • Audubon Circle
  • BU Bridge
  • Central Square
  • Charles Circle
  • Charlestown Bridge
  • Cleveland Circle
  • Coolidge Corner
  • Davis Square
  • Harvard Bridge
  • Harvard Square
  • Inman Square
  • Kenmore Square
  • Lafayette Square
  • Leverett Circle
  • Longfellow Bridge
  • Muddy River Bridge
  • Museum of Science Bridge
  • Newton Center
  • Porter Square
  • Powderhouse Circle
  • Putnam Square
  • River Street Bridge
  • South Station
  • Union Square
  • Watertown Square
  • Western Avenue Bridge
Trails
  • Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
  • Assabet River Rail Trail
  • Bedford Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail
  • Cape Cod Rail Trail
  • Dr. P. D. White Bike Path
  • Linear Park
  • Manhan Rail Trail
  • Martha´s Vineyard Bikeway
  • Minuteman Commuter Bikeway
  • Neponset River Greenway
  • Northampton Bike Path
  • Norwottuck Trail
  • Pierre Lallement Southwest Corridor Trail
  • Salem-Marblehead Rail Trail
  • Shining Sea Bikeway
  • Somerville Community Path
  • Southwick Rail Trail
  • Upper Charles Trail
  • West Bedford "Reformatory Branch" Trail