City officials and business leaders looking to increase economic performance and attract new residents recognize the benefits of having a strong local retail environment. Money spent at a local retail is more likely to stay in the community (Civic Economics, 2008; Patel and Martin, 2011) and sell goods that are sourced locally (Clark & Banga, 2010). A commissioned study in Grand Rapids, Michigan, found that locally owned restaurants spent 56% their revenues locally, compared to only 37% in the… Read More

Counts provide the foundation for measuring nonmotorized travel along a link or a network and are also useful for monitoring trends, planning new infrastructure, and for conducting safety, health, and economic analyses. For safety analysis, they are critical in assessing the exposure to risk. Over the last decade, several automated technologies have been developed to count bicyclists and pedestrians. Despite advances in counting technology, cost and other considerations will continue to limit… Read More