Columbia, South Carolina – The City of Columbia Planning Division invites citizens to participate actively in determining the direction of transportation. The city is looking for volunteers to assist in pedestrian and biker counts at strategic points across Columbia as part of an ongoing initiative to enhance walkability and cycling infrastructure.
This project seeks to gather important information that will guide future transportation planning and guarantee that all road users—not only drivers—are considered during infrastructure decisions.
The effort is a component of a bigger national movement called The National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, which stresses the need of knowing how people navigate metropolitan areas outside of vehicles.
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Traditional traffic studies, which mostly concentrate on vehicle statistics, can ignore pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. Through their participation, volunteers will enable city designers to better understand the daily travel patterns of Columbia citizens, so guiding intelligent, inclusive urban development.
Why counting matters
To make intelligent decisions related to streets, sidewalks, and crossings, city designers depend on reliable information. Targets for the pedestrian and bicyclist counts are high traffic zones, especially corridors and crossings where non-motorized users have been involved in collisions.
Tracking these movements helps city planners identify areas most in need of infrastructure modifications as bike lanes, crosswalk improvements, or better lighting.
Spread throughout several dates and time slots, routine data collecting guarantees that the results form actual trends rather than one-time anomalies. There will be counts for weekends as well as weekdays to reflect differences in travel patterns.
After that, this data is distributed to legislators, urban designers, and transportation companies to support better and safer road construction giving all users top priority.
How to get involved
The City of Columbia is offering multiple opportunities for residents to volunteer and make a tangible impact. Nine time slots ranging from late March through early April are open for volunteers; counts take place on Saturdays as well as weekdays. Participants in each two-hour shift will record the number of bikes and pedestrians crossing approved areas.
Interested individuals can sign up for as many shifts as they’d like, giving them the flexibility to contribute according to their availability. A full schedule of time slots is provided below:
- Saturday, March 29, 2025 – 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 1, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Wednesday, April 2, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Thursday, April 3, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Saturday, April 5, 2025 – 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 8, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Thursday, April 10, 2025 – 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Saturday, April 12, 2025 – 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Volunteers can select a preferred location from a list of designated count sites and will receive instructions on how to document pedestrian and bicyclist activity. Those interested can register at https://bit.ly/2025SpringCounts.
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A community-driven effort
This initiative is not just about numbers—it’s about people. Whether they are performing errands, heading to work, or just enjoying a leisurely walk, every walker and bicyclist counted reflects a real person navigating Columbia’s streets.
The information gathered will support the city’s dedication to make Columbia a safer and more accessible destination for non-motorized people by helping to determine next developments.
The City of Columbia says that volunteer involvement in these counts is essential. The City depends on involved citizens for helping officials create a better, more inclusive transportation system. Residents who volunteer to count contribute directly to shaping the city’s pedestrian- and bike-friendly policies going forward.
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Previous count initiatives have already significantly improved urban mobility, which affects initiatives including the Walkable 29203 Pedestrian Master Plan and the Walk Bike Columbia Pedestrian & Bicycle Master Plan. These long-term plans seek to improve Columbia’s infrastructure so that every resident—who walks, bikes, drives, or uses public transit—may have safer, more convenient commuting choices.
Get involved and make a difference
If you want to change things, this is a quick but successful approach to help. Volunteers just have to be eager to observe and document data. Participants can register for one or more shifts; their contributions will directly affect the city’s priorities for bike and pedestrian safety.
For more information, residents can contact the City of Columbia Planning Division at (803) 545-3222 or visit https://planninganddevelopment.columbiasc.gov/bike-ped-resources/ to review past reports and findings.
With each count, Columbia moves closer to becoming a city where walking and biking are not just afterthoughts but integral parts of a well-designed urban landscape. Now, the city needs its residents to step up—because every step, every pedal, and every person counts.
