Palo Alto’s Bridges – We Count on You

This blog post was contributed by William Robinson, SVBC member and Palo Alto Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee member.Palo Alto Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (PABAC) volunteers maintain pedestrian-bicycle counters at two popular bridges, El Palo Alto Bridge in the northwest of the city and Willkie Bridge on the southeast. The counters have three years of expected life left and are used to determine how many people use these facilities for healthy transportation.Image: Weekly CountsAs the image shows, an average of 876-1,121 people use the bridges every day. The numbers stay high on weekends and weekdays alike. The highest number of people in a single day captured by the counter is 1,494 on El Palo Alto bridge on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Twenty percent more activity is registered on the north at El Palo Alto, likely due to higher density and proximity to StanfordOn Bike to Work Day 2017, the Wilkie Bridge had greater patronage, at 1,240. The counter adjacent to Menlo Park is expected to chronicle an increase in traffic as housing is built and new residents visit Palo Alto. Likewise, Mountain View’s current housing activity is expected to increase traffic on the Wilkie Bridge. These counters will be pivotal in capturing how transportation changes with shifts in development.