Planning and conservation › Natural areas, parks and trails › Planning parks and trails › Regional trails and greenways › Trail counts
Get involved with an ongoing project to collect important data on bicycle and pedestrian activity.
Each September, volunteers from throughout the region gather along trails to count and survey people biking and walking on the Intertwine – the Portland metropolitan area's system of trails, parks and natural areas. The count is part of the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project’s ongoing effort to gather accurate trail use data to help decided where and when to build new trails and respond the needs of trail users. Learn more
The Intertwine trail counts and surveys project could not be accomplished without the help of local partners and volunteers. In 2011,171 volunteers counted at 107 unique sites. Metro partnered with the cities of Gresham, Hillsboro, Tigard, Tualatin and Portland, Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, Clackamas and Clark counties on project coordination and training. This year, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Parks and Recreation, Oregon City, Lake Oswego and West Linn have also signed on to participate.
View a presentation with photos and data from the 2011 trail counts. Download the presentation
View trail count sites in Google Maps.
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View trail count sites in Google Earth.
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The Portland metropolitan area is supported by a system of regional parks and trails that connect people to natural areas and wildlife, transit, schools, shopping and jobs. The growing network of bicycle and pedestrian pathways boosts the region's tourism activities, offers recreational opportunities and helps the region grow in a way that improves livability and reduces energy dependence. The Intertwine trail counts and surveys project helps maintain and increase these benefits by tracking usage, trail conditions and future demand.
Counting automobiles and transit users has been a well-established practice for years, but until now, there has been no consistent effort to do the same for bikers and walkers. The lack of data is part of the reason why these transportation modes receive less transportation funding.
The data gathered is used to support funding requests, planning and development and to better understand the region's overall feelings and values about trails. Volunteers use nationally standardized methods for surveying and data recording in order to ensure consistent responses. To learn more about the project and last year's results, review the project documents below.
In September 2011, more than 25,000 trail users were counted in two days.
* Includes all other modes such as roller-blading and skateboarding.
Metro will lead the fifth annual Intertwine trail count in September 2012 with new and returning partners. Sites selected for the project will be tied to current or future trail projects.
Beaverton and Tualatin Hills Parks
Mary O'Donnell, 503-649-4855, tmomo@frontier.com
Susan Hanson, 503-521-1941, susanlh@hevanet.com
Clackamas County and North Clackamas Parks
Katie Dunham, 503-742-4358, kdunham@co.clackamas.or.us
Gresham
Kate Dreyfus, 503-618-2294, kate.dreyfus@greshamoregon.gov
Hillsboro
Mary Ordal, 503-681-6225, maryo@ci.hillsboro.or.us
Lake Oswego
Ryan Stee, 503-697-6575, rstee@ci.oswego.or.us
Oregon City
Denise Kai, 503-496-1565, dkai@ci.oregon-city.or.us
Oregon State Parks
Kevin Price, 503-695-2226, kevin.price@state.or.us
ODOT
Basil Christopher, 503-731-3261, basil.r.christopher@odot.state.or.us
Portland
April Bertelsen, 503-823-6177, april.bertelsen@pdxtrans.org
Tualatin
Carl Switzer, 503-691-3064, cswitzer@ci.tualatin.or.us
Vancouver
Nastassja Pace, 360-487-8324, nastassja.pace@cityofvancouver.us
West Linn
Zach Pelz, 503-656-4211, zpelz@westlinnoregon.gov
Wilsonville
Jeff Owen, 503-682-0502, owen@ridesmart.com
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