With the introduction of DECOBIKE, the city's official bike-sharing program, and the burgeoning relationship between local government and the bicycle community, San Diego is quickly progressing as a "bike-friendly" city. Bikes Count is a program that entails the installation of tallying devices along bike paths and streets, which calculate the number of cyclists and pedestrians traversing the area.
The program is sponsored by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, SDSU, and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). There are currently twenty-eight bike-counting devices throughout fourteen of the cities in the county. More counters will ultimately be installed as the program expands, according to a post by the San Diego County News Center.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Child Health Medical Officer for the County of San Diego said in the post:
“Bicycling and walking are easy ways to increase daily physical activity to stay healthy and reduce the chances of getting a chronic disease. Collecting this information helps promote bicycle riding, and increases choices for everyone to include biking and walking in their routines.”
The Bikes Count program is funded Healthy Works, which is a $16 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bike Count is administered by the county, and Healthy Works is operational under Live Well, San Diego! which entails the county's continued work in "healthy, safe, and thriving individuals, neighborhoods, and the community."
2012 has been a big year for cycling in San Diego, but this past week in particular has seen a flurry of activity throughout the cycling community. IVN recently published a story on the San Diego Bike Coalition celebrating community leaders' support of programs that will ultimately make the city one of most bike-friendly in the entire country.