To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Works
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Donation of Funds from the Humboldt Trails Council for Automatic Trail Counters and Supplemental Budget (4/5 Vote Required)
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Accept the donation of funds from the Humboldt Trails Council for Public Works to purchase and install two (2) automatic trail counters; and
2. Approve, and authorize the Humboldt County Auditor-Controller to process, the attached supplemental budget request regarding the funds donated by the Humboldt Trails Council (4/5 vote required).
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Humboldt Trails Council; Bicycles & Trailways Program (1710)
DISCUSSION:
Traffic counts on bike paths and other trails provide valuable information for understanding usage rates and planning future investments in active transportation and recreation. Counting trail users manually typically requires a substantial volunteer effort and only provides a snapshot view. Cost-effective technology now exists that provide automatic traffic counts with magnetic and infrared sensors. For example, the City of Arcata operates two (2) trail counters which generate counts of bicyclists and pedestrians.
The Humboldt Trails Council has offered to donate funds to the Humboldt County Public Works Department ("Public Works") to purchase and install two (2) trail counters (Attachment 1). One (1) counter would be located on the Hammond Trail in McKinleyville. Public Works would retain a contractor for the installation on the Hammond Trail. Another counter would be located on the Eureka Waterfront Trail near the connection with the future Humboldt Bay Trail South project. The City of Eureka has offered to install the counter on the Eureka Waterfront Trail. Operation of a counter on the Eureka Waterfront Trail would provide useful data to assess the change in use before and after completion of the Humboldt Bay Trail between Eu...
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