Counting Bicyclists and Pedestrians on a Rural Highway in New Mexico

In southwest New Mexico, U.S. Route 180 connects the historic mining communities of Silver City, Arenas Valley, Santa Clara, Bayard, and Hurley.  With the volatility of mining in today’s economy, these communities, with the help of the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments (SWNMCOG), are seeking to diversify their economies by capitalizing and investing in services and infrastructure that support outdoor recreation.  The Tour of the Gila, an annual cycling event, and other similar races are examples of activities that bring economic benefits to the region.

 Cyclists training for the Tour of the Gila, as well as locals walking and biking, particularly on the newly implemented Copper Trail connecting Santa Clara and Bayard, utilize this U.S. 180 corridor.  SWNMCOG was interested in quantifying the use of the corridor by pedestrians and bicyclists. 

This interest ties into another local effort, the “Five Points Initiative,” which aims to connect these five communities along U.S. 180 via bicycle and walking trails and pathways to allow locals and visitors safe opportunities to actively explore the region and its natural assets. 

This corridor includes a high-speed rural highway, a separated multi-use pathway between Santa Clara and Bayard, and sidewalks in Silver City and Bayard, all of which presented unique challenges when considering quantifying the corridor’s use by bicycles and pedestrians. 
Hence, this paper details how counts were collected and why these counting tools were chosen.  It also details challenges and drawbacks of the methods, identifying many opportunities available to improve quantifying the use of rural roadways by active transportation users.