Friday, October 10, 2014 - 10:44am

Madison Traffic Engineering installed its first visual electronic bicycle counter on Thursday, October 9th. The counter, called the Eco-Totem by manufacturer Eco-Counter, is located on the Southwest Path just east of Monroe Street. The counter tallies bicyclists that pass over loops embedded in the path. There are two counts displayed on the Eco-Totem. Near the top is the count for the day. Below this a thermometer type display that shows the number of bicyclists that have passed by cumulatively for the year.

“We already count bicyclists at several locations in the city,” said David Dryer, City Traffic Engineer. “The Eco-Totem will supplement our data collection program while also being visible to path users and drivers on the street--it will give people a reminder of how many bicyclists there are in Madison and the need to watch for cyclists on all City streets.”

The Southwest Path through the campus is area is one of the busiest paths in the city.