2021 Walk and Bike Count

The Walk & Bike Count seeks to understand the current trends in active travel. LADOT uses the data from our bi-annual count in a number of ways, such as:

1. Understanding changes in people using active modes of transportation;
2. Providing data to inform and support decision making;
3. Tracking usage before and after transportation projects and programs are implemented;
4. Understanding how travel trends and behaviors vary across geographic areas and street typologies;
5. Forecasting and projecting future usage on projects being planned and designed; and
6. Identifying locations for future bicycle and pedestrian improvements

I. Methodology Description of count procedure and methods.

II. Temporary Count Results Results from weekday and weekend counts at 100 temporary location in the Fall of 2021.

III. Permanent Counter Results Year round bicycle and pedestrian counts from 22 permanent counters installed in 2021

IV. Project Evaluation A summary of travel behavior changes from transportation projects completed in the last two years.

V. American Community Survey Summary of data for Los Angeles from an annual nationwide transportation survey of commuting data.

The Walk and Bike count separates three primary modes of active travel: people walking, biking, and riding motorized scooters. In addition, a fourth category, "other" captures all other travel modes.

We collect information about each traveler. This data has proven to be valuable in understanding the travel patterns of women, people using wheeled devices, and people with mobility challenges. The traveler characteristics in our temporary counts include perceived gender, use of mobility assistance device or stroller, use of helmet, sidewalk riding, and contraflow riding.

The Walk & Bike Count captures people traveling along a block rather than crossing an intersection. This method, known as a screen line count, establishes an invisible line across a block and counts the number of people who pass over that line, noting their direction of travel. The diagram below illustrates how a screen line count is performed.

Our Walk & Bike Count also includes permanent counters (Eco-Counter CITIX 3D model) that were installed throughout 2021. Permanent bike counters can constantly record the number of bicyclists and pedestrians at a location. We get year-round data from permanent bike counters, unlike the "snapshot" details from the screen line counts.

The Walk & Bike Count aligns with the industry recommendations for collecting data on people actively traveling. All temporary counts were performed between late September and early November, when the sun is out longer and weather is favorable. Counts were performed after the start of the academic school year when more students can be found walking or biking to school. We avoided counting during holidays, big events, and unusual weather conditions to eliminate data that deviates from normal travel patterns.

Each of the 100 temporary count locations had two counts: one on a weekday during the morning and evening commuting periods, and one on the weekend during the mid-day period. Weekday counts were performed on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, which best represents normal weekday travel patterns. Weekend counts were performed on either Saturday or Sunday, as research indicates both days have similar travel patterns.

Count programs operate best when they include a variety of locations. Ours include:

• Streets with high walking and/or biking activity
• Multi-use off-street paths
• On-street bikeways, especially at locations with few alternative parallel routes
• Downtowns and other employment areas
• Streets representing urban, suburban, and rural contexts
• Key corridors with future capital projects
• Streets with existing and ongoing historical counts
• Streets with high pedestrian and bicycle collision rates

We conducted counts at 122 locations throughout the city: 100 locations were temporary , screen line counts (also called manual counts) and 22 were permanent counter sites. Our locations include the facility types described in the following table.

In 2021, the average mode share split was 83% walking, 13% biking, 3% motorized scooter, and 1% other modes. This split is relatively consistent with the 2019 count, where we reported 82% walking, 14% biking, 2% motorized scooters, and 2% using other modes.

The majority of count sites have a higher proportion of pedestrians compared to other modes. Some sites, however, have a higher proportion of bicyclists. These tend to be shared use bike paths like Ballona Creek Path, San Fernando Bike Path, and the L.A. River Bike Path as well as East-West corridors on the Westside like Washington Blvd (Mar Vista/Venice/Marina del Rey), Main St (Venice), and Ohio Ave (West L.A./Sawtelle).

We counted a total of 96,502 people walking during our 2021 Walk & Bike Count. For total weekday and weekend volumes combined, the top location for walking was Hollywood Blvd at 9,333 people, or over 1,100 people per hour! This is significantly higher than the second highest location, Westwood Blvd, with 5,978 people.

During our weekday counts, we observed 66,525 people walking. Not surprisingly, the top locations for walking were along dense commercial corridors with nearby employment and educational facilities. During weekday counts, the top locations were also Hollywood Blvd and Westwood Blvd with 5,054 and 4,850 pedestrians, respectively.

During weekend two-hour counts, the top three locations were Hollywood Blvd with 4,279 people, Figueroa St with 3,920 people, and Olive St with 1,530 people.

We counted a total of 15,109 people biking in our 2021 Walk & Bike Count. In total volume (i.e. combining weekday and weekend counts), the top location for biking was the Ballona Creek Bike Path at 1,579 bicyclists, which amounts to 197 bicyclists per hour. The second highest location was Washington Blvd with 978 bicyclists.

During the weekday period, we observed 10,385 people biking. When looking at weekdays alone, the Ballona Creek Bike Path remained the top location for biking with 1,137 bicyclists. The second highest location, Hoover St, had 497 bicyclists. Washington Blvd ranked third with 456 bicyclists.

The total amount of riders per facility type is shown in the chart below. The facility type with the most riders are standard lanes, followed by protected lanes, and locations with no bike facility.

The 2023 Walk & Bike Count captured 3,221 people using motorized scooters. We recorded motorized scooters at 96 locations. The top location was on 7th St with 313 riders, followed by Hoover St with 248 riders, and Figueroa St with 242 riders. We recorded 10 or fewer riders at 57 locations and two riders or fewer at 29 locations.

Motorized scooter counts are shown in the map below. Icon size represents the number of scooters counted.

We observed 1,627 people using other active modes of travel in this year’s count. This number mostly consisted of people skateboarding, but we also observed people using roller skates, hoverboards, and more. The top locations for other modes were Hoover St 390 riders, Figueroa St with 173 riders, and Jefferson Blvd with 79 riders. We observed five riders or fewer using other modes of travel at 38 locations; at five locations we did not observe any people using other modes of travel.

Why did we capture people’s gender in the Walk & Bike Count? Gender parity is considered an important indicator of success in creating safe, comfortable and attractive conditions for people traveling. For the count, we asked observers to classify each traveler by their perceived gender. We recognize that perceived gender is an imperfect metric and may not align with the self-identified gender of the traveler.

Of the 116,459 total people we observed in our count, 36% were perceived to be female. By mode, female travelers were 40% of pedestrians, 15% of bicyclists, 17% of motorized scooter riders, and 12% for people using other modes of travel.

Among pedestrians, only nine of the 100 locations recorded more females than males. The top proportion of female walkers was at Compton Blvd (58%), followed by Hoover St (57%), and 4th St (55%).

When looking at weekday walking alone, 41% of travelers were perceived to be female. When comparing weekend counts, the proportion of females decreased slightly to 37%. These figures differ from our last count, which reported a higher proportion of female travelers during weekends compared to weekdays.

On weekdays, 13% of bicyclists were female. This increased to 200% on weekends. The highest proportion of female riders was on Washington Blvd (36%), followed by Griffith Park Blvd (33%), and Westwood Blvd (28%). Nine locations recorded no female bicyclists during either weekday or weekend counts. On weekends, the highest percentages of female bicyclists were at Nordhoff St (71%), La Cienega Blvd (63%), and Westwood Blvd (53%).

Our count captured positioning for those riding bicycles, motorized scooters, and using other travel modes. Travelers were recorded using the roadway or sidewalk. The propensity of sidewalk riding on a given street is an indicator that a street may not feel comfortable or safe for riders. In Los Angeles, riding on the sidewalk is legal for bicycle, skateboard, and roller skate users. In California, motorized scooters are not allowed on the sidewalk.

Across all wheeled travel modes, 27% of people rode on the sidewalk. This share was 22% for bicyclists, 35% for motorized scooters, and 57% for other modes. While these findings are consistent across both weekday and weekend periods, sidewalk riding for bicyclists decreased to 18% on weekends.

California law does not require adults 18 and over to wear a helmet, and as of January 2019, a person can also ride motorized scooters without a helmet. Despite this, officials still recommend wearing a helmet when using bicycles and motorized scooters.

In the 2021 Walk & Bike Count, we recorded 6,907 people used helmets out of the 18,330 bicycle and scooter riders combined. On average, 43% of bicyclists wore helmets when riding, 11% of people riding motorized scooters wore helmets, and 7% of people using other modes wore helmets. On weekends, helmet usage increased to 48% for bicyclists, perhaps indicating more people riding for recreation or sport.

At 27 locations we recorded 50% or more bicycle riders using helmets; 23 locations had a bike facility. The highest rates of bicycle helmet usage were seen on Ohio Ave (82%), the Arroyo Seco Bike Path (79%), and the Los Angeles River Path (77%). Bicycle helmet usage decreased to 26% at locations without bike facilities and increased to 65% at bike paths.

Contra flow riding is defined as those riding in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic, such as riding eastbound in a westbound bike lane or vehicle lane. This information was captured for those riding bicycles, motorized scooters, and using other modes of travel in the bike lane or vehicle lane. Contra flow riding was not recorded on sidewalks as there is no designated direction of travel. People more often ride contra flow on one-way streets or when their destinations are on a side of the street opposite of the direction of travel.

The average rate of contra flow riding was 5% for bicyclists in the 2021 Walk & Bike Count. This rate increased to 10% for motorized scooters and 11% for other modes. For bicyclists, the highest rate of contra flow riding was 30% at Main St between 6th St and 7th St. For motorized scooter riders, the highest contra flow rate, considering counts with 10 riders or greater, was also on Main St between 6th St and 7th St at 30%. For other modes, the highest contra flow rate of counts with 4 riders or greater was 6th St at 23%. It is worth noting that of our top 10 locations, four are one-way streets and three more are wide streets with bidirectional traffic and a center median.

Prior to the inception of the LADOT Walk & Bike Count, community organizations and volunteers conducted their own Bike + Ped Count for over ten years. In the community-led count, they captured weekday travel from 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM (4 hours total). The LADOT count captures weekday travel from 7-10 AM and 3-6 PM (6 hours total). To keep comparisons consistent, we reduce the time period for our comparisons to match the previous four-hour time periods.

For historic counts, some locations are missing one or more hours of data. To account for this and still be able to compare locations, we modified our analysis to only include hours that have data across all time periods. For example, in 2019, Main St between 6th St and 7th St is missing weekend data; to compare volumes at this location between 2019 and 2021, we will exclude 2021 weekend counts and focus on weekday comparisons only.

Between 2019 and 2021, across 54 comparable locations, the total number of people traveling decreased from 64,703 in 2019 to 52,814 two years later, an 18% decrease. In 42 out of 54 comparable sites, traveler volumes decreased while only 12 locations experienced an increase. The biggest decline occurred on Alameda St: 89% fewer people moved through this location in 2021. This decline is attributed to Metro’s Regional Rail Construction Project, which changed travel patterns at this location. Exposition Blvd experienced a 343% increase in travelers, likely because we relocated the 2019 Count location, from between 3rd Ave and 4th Ave to between Crenshaw Blvd and 11th Ave, in order to be situated closer to the Metro K Line, which opened later in 2022.

Between 2019 and 2021, pedestrian volume decreased by 20% while bicycle and scooter volume decreased by 5%. For people walking and using other modes of travel, the number of travelers declined from 54,570 to 43,535. The location with the highest increase by total volume was Hollywood Blvd between Highland Ave and Orange Dr, which observed 3,319 more pedestrians and other travel modes than in 2019. This location was relocated in the 2021 count from its former location between Argyle Ave and El Centro Ave to align with more historic data. The biggest decrease as a whole was on Figueroa between 7th St and 8th St where 3,403 fewer pedestrians and other modes traveled, a 45% decrease. The largest increase by percentage was at Exposition Blvd, where pedestrians and other modes increased by 1,223%.

For all bicyclists and motorized scooters combined, travel decreased from 9,726 to 9,279 riders, a 5% decrease since 2019. The biggest decrease by percentage and by volume occurred on Alameda St with 78% of bicycles and scooters combined or 191 fewer bicyclists and scooter users. The largest increase in total volumes was at 7th St, where 248 more riders were counted in 2021. This street was upgraded to protected bike lanes in 2020.

How do traveler characteristics in 2021 compare to previous years? This section uses data from 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013, 2011, and 2009 for comparison. Due to limited historic data on people walking, most of this analysis will focus on comparing the characteristics of those biking.

Helmet use fluctuates throughout the years but tends to average around 41% of all riders using helmets. In 2021, the percentage of cyclists wearing helmets was 43%, an increase of 10% from 2019 when helmet use dropped to a record low of 33%. Though rates returned to their historical average, the data demonstrates that over half of all bicyclists do not use helmets. In the future, we hope to see the rate increase to one in every two riders.

Sidewalk riding is the lowest it has been in the past decade! This reveals the benefits of the continued expansion of protected and buffered bicycle facilities. In 2021, 21% of riders were recorded on the sidewalk, decreasing the sidewalk riding for the fourth count in a row. In 2019, 22% of bicyclists were recorded on the sidewalk, down from 28% in 2017, and 32% in 2015.

The proportion of contra flow riding has shown moderate variations across each year but remains below 10% of total riders. Contra flow riding accounted for 5% of total riding in 2021, an increase from 3% of riders in 2019. This percentage was 2% in 2017, 3% in 2015, 8% in 2013, and 4% in 2011 and 2009.

The proportion of female riders in the 2021 count (15%) has shown a small decrease from the previous 2019 count (17%). In the 2017 Bike + Ped Count, 15% of bicyclists were female, followed by 15% in 2015, 18% in 2013, 15% in 2011, and 17% in 2009.

In 2021, LADOT, in partnership with the Bureau of Street Lighting, installed 22 permanent pedestrian and bike counters throughout the city on various facility types. Locations prioritized for permanent counters included shared use paths, Walk & Bike Count locations, and protected bicycle lanes. For most streets, a permanent counter needs to be placed on each side of the street in order to capture bi-directional travel. These installations took place throughout the Summer and Fall of 2021. In future years, we will be able to better understand how ridership changes across days, by season, and after a facility is improved. The 2021 Walk & Bike Count will report on the limited 2021 permanent count data we have available. The 2023 report will subsequently report on 2022 and 2023 permanent count data.

The following table lists the total volumes captured in 2021 by each counter, sorted by date of installation. The facilities with the largest traveler volume overall are not necessarily those that were installed earliest. 7th St, both the North and South side counter, is in the top five for overall volume in 2021 despite being installed late in the year. Overall, the permanent counters are a great data-collecting tool for our safe streets effort because they inform us about where demand from travelers exists and how travelers change routes depending on facility upgrades.

Permanent counters were installed on four facility types: standard bike lanes, protected bike lanes, shared use paths, and streets with no facilities. A description of these facilities can be found on page five. Shared use paths had the highest average cyclist counts followed by protected bike lanes, standard bike lanes, and then streets with no facilities.

The most popular facility for cyclists are shared use paths. The highest ridership day across all bike counters occurred at the Los Angeles Bike Path on October 15, 2021. On that day, 1,703 cyclists used the facility. The highest number of pedestrians on any recorded day occurred at 7th St on December 22, 2021; on that day, 11,295 pedestrians walked by the counter on the north side of the street.

The permanent counters can also determine when a traveler is on foot. The distribution of pedestrians at each facility type is displayed in the chart below.

This section summarizes the one-year estimates of commuting travel taken from the U.S. Census ACS one-year estimates from 2011 to 2019 and 2021. Data in 2020 is not available due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2011, the percentage of households with a vehicle has increased by 11%. The ACS estimates that, as of 2021, only 12% of households do not have a vehicle, compared to 14% in 2011. Overall, driving (alone or in a carpool) was the most popular commute mode, accounting for 79% of all surveyed workers in 2019. Due to the pandemic, in 2021 fewer people commuted to a workplace and the number of people driving to work dropped from 79% to 65% in 2021. Specifically, the number of people commuting alone by car decreased by 27% and the number of people in a carpool decreased by 17%.

Commuting across other travel modes also decreased since the pandemic. In 2021, only 9% of the workforce commuted by transit, bike, or walking compared to 13% in 2019. Broken down by each mode, between 2019 and 2021, commuting by transit declined by 40%, commuting by bike by 36%, and commuting by walking by 28%.

The 2021 Walk & Bike Count provides a snapshot of all the ways people are actively traveling in Los Angeles. While active travel has declined compared to their 2019 levels, some general trends have remained the same.

The data from this report will be available to view and download through the City of Los Angeles Open Data Portal and on NavigateLA. Each year our datasets are growing with additional years of ACS data, more permanent counters, and additional count locations, and we look forward to continuing to analyze trends in travel across our City.

 2019 Walk & Bike Count Data 

 2021 Walk & Bike Count Data