New counters and more surveys to measure participation

Overview

Action 5.3: Deliver a rolling program to measure cycling participation and behaviour in selected local government areas across the state, including undertaking surveys and counts and installing new counters in priority areas. This will help us to monitor, evaluate, and report on the impact of investments in the principal cycle network.

Lead agency: Department of Transport and Main Roads

Status: Complete

Achievements

New bicycle counters and participation surveys on some of the main bicycle routes in Queensland are providing a stronger understanding of where and how many people ride.

We have installed an additional 5 permanent bicycle counters on the Principal Cycle Network, including along the Veloway 1 (V1) Cycleway Stage D and the Gateway Upgrade North shared pathway in southeast Queensland.

Data from the counters is publicly available online and is helping identify low and high traffic areas and times. An increase in rider numbers of over 10% was observed at the new sites between 2018 and 2019.

We also used temporary counters to measure the number of people riding on the principal cycle network, including in Logan, the Gold Coast, and the Fraser Coast, and commissioned a cycling participation survey for Logan and Queensland.

Local governments can also now apply for state-matched funding to install permanent bicycle counters on the Principal Cycle Network in their region through the Cycle Network Local Government Grants Program.

Next steps

We will publish key findings in the new Queensland State of Cycling Report and publish an interactive dashboard to share bicycle riding participation and behaviour data with the public. We will continue to collect and share data to understand if what we are doing is working and to adapt the future direction of activities to encourage more bicycle riding in Queensland.