Credit: Latvian Union of Cyclists

Time to count the cyclists! In an effort to highlight the modal share of cyclists in Riga, the Latvian Union of Cyclists organized an annual cyclist count in conjunction with the European Mobility Week.  Counting took place at various points in the city by dedicated volunteers with the Latvian Union of Cyclists. The total number of cyclists topped at 1632, suggesting an increase of 26% in some locations since last year’s count.

The Belgian-based association Pro-Velo also organized a similar count. With their campaign ‘Les Cyclistes Comptent’, people living in Brussels were invited to keep track of the number of bicycles and cars passing on their own street from September 16 -20. These self-selected volunteers were encouraged to count for 20 minutes during peak hours to help get a feel for the proportion of cyclists in the city.

Of course this kind of counting has its limitations. “Counting isn’t made to find out the absolute number of cyclists,” says Latvian Union of Cyclists board member and www.veloriga.lv maintainer Romāns Meļņiks, “it is not possible because they are everywhere and they are riding [at] different times and [in] different directions. The aim is to find out cyclists’ growth tendency.” These types of counts can also help local governments understand the importance of cycling in their city. Have you counted the cyclists you see on your street? Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised by how many two-wheeled commuters you see!

Find out more about the Latvian Union of Cyclists (in Latvian only): www.divritenis.lv; and Les Cyclistes Comptent (in French only): http://www.lescyclistescomptent.be/.

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