The Pressing Need for Data
The most topical issue among stakeholders at APCC24 was the need for accurate data – whether for safety, infrastructure planning, long-term budget allocation, or forecasting purposes. Sarah Davies' presentation addressed this critical need by showcasing MetroCount's ability to monitor pop-up bike lanes. MetroCount's products provide accurate and definitive data that allows local and national government authorities to maintain or create dedicated safe active transport thoroughfares.
"We're seeing some of the pop-up bike lanes now becoming permanent, which was always the goal. (And from our perspective, we hope the clients want to monitor permanently too.) The pop-up bike lane data we collected (including at 42 sites for the City of Melbourne, 20 sites for Transport for NSW, 7 for the Department of Transport in Victoria, and other council sites also being monitored) proved to be a very useful part of the decision-making process toward evaluating the success of the pop-up bike lanes." - Sarah Davies, Projects Manager.
Global Impact and Legislation Changes
Looking beyond Australia, Sarah referenced global case studies showing how MetroCount's precise multicategory analytic reporting directly led to changes in legislation, significantly reducing accidents. The presentation highlighted the detailed nature of MetroCount's products and devices, including temporary and permanent counters, as well as the major shift to real-time analytics with ATLYST.
At the conference, even MetroCount's biggest advocates learnt more about the ATLYST platform, which can provide retrospective analytical reporting capabilities to pinpoint emerging transportation trends not previously considered at the original time of survey/data collection. Many discovered that MetroCount data is used in direct reporting by local, national, and international authorities – a testament to the company's credibility and expertise in the field.
Engaging Key Stakeholders
As a thought leader in the active transport space, MetroCount was acknowledged and engaged with senior government officials, policy makers, NGO representatives, potential collaborators, and procurement decision-makers. The presentation resonated across the diverse stakeholder groups, leading to requests for follow-up meetings and discussions.
If you want to know more about monitoring shared/ bike paths with MetroCount, check out our RidePod BP and RidePod BT or get in touch.
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