Skip to main content

Cycle counter installed on Seattle’s popular Fremont Bridge

A new cycle counter on the north end of the Fremont Bridge in Seattle will help the city gather better data about bike traffic along one of the city's most popular routes for two-wheeled commuters, Seattle Department of Transport (SDOT) officials say. Supplied by European company Eco-counter, an Eco Totem, a seven-foot high totem with electronic counter that uses sensors in the road to count cycles in both directions, and feed a real-time digital display of that number during the day. The year-to-date total
October 15, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new cycle counter on the north end of the Fremont Bridge in Seattle will help the city gather better data about bike traffic along one of the city's most popular routes for two-wheeled commuters, Seattle Department of Transport (SDOT) officials say.

Supplied by European company 6713 Eco-counter, an Eco Totem, a seven-foot high totem with electronic counter that uses sensors in the road to count cycles in both directions, and feed a real-time digital display of that number during the day. The year-to-date total also will be displayed. "Data from the counter will be transmitted electronically and will be available on a web site," SDOT said.

"The location on the Fremont Bridge is ideal because this is the busiest bridge for bike traffic in the city and the state, and there is a good mix of commute and recreational trips through the area," said Chuck Ayers, executive director of Seattle’s Cascade's cycle club. "We are delighted to help bring a cycle counter to Seattle to show that bicycling counts here."

The counter will collect 24/7 cycle count data on one of the city's most-used cycle routes and provide better data on cycle use and demand. "Our goal as stated in the 2007 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan has been to triple the number of bicyclists between 2007 and 2017," SDOT Director Peter Hahn said. "This new bike counter will help promote bicycling and will let us better measure the progress we're making."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Urban tunnel replaces viaduct, improves safety
    October 10, 2012
    Earthquake sensors, automatic barriers and real time monitoring systems are all part of a scheme to make a major Seattle traffic artery safer, by taking it underground. Huw Williams reports. Seattle’s metropolitan area of 3.5 million people, like much of the western seaboard of the United States, lies in an earthquake zone. In Seattle’s case, the city and its hinterland sit atop a complex network of interrelated active geological faults capable of severe seismic activity and posing complex considerations fo
  • Smoothing the path to reducing traffic pollution
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford reviews a new approach to traffic smoothing. A key objective for the Californian city of Bakersfield’s upgraded traffic operations centre (TOC), which opened in June 2014, is to help improve living conditions in a region with one of the worst air quality problems in the US. The TOC is speeding up the smoothing of traffic flows by delivering faster and better-informed traffic signal retiming and synchronisation.
  • Q-Free blooms in Brisbane active travel count project
    September 26, 2023
    Counting units are linked with traffic displays on path near Australian city's Botanic Gardens
  • Uber to enter Seattle’s bike-share space
    June 22, 2018
    Uber intends to launch its newly-acquired Jump electric bikes in Seattle, US, in a move which could increase competition among rival firms. The ride-hailing company will decide on whether to apply for a permit once regulations have been mapped out by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDoT). SDoT is finalising a permit programme for bike-share operators and plans to present a proposal to the city council next month. A report by the Seattle Times says three bike-share companies operate in the city