Jacksonville’s Corkscrew Park is becoming the first in the city to count people walking and biking to show how busy it’s been.
City officials and bike and walking enthusiasts dedicated a new “Eco-Counter” at the park located right under the Acosta Bridge, which will display how many people have walked or biked by throughout the day, and how many total have done so throughout the year.
“Data is something we have been sorely lacking from a bicycle [and] pedestrian standpoint downtown, not only on our trail systems, but also on our public streets,” said Lori Boyer, the CEO of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority.
Boyer and other city officials said that the data tracked using the eco-counter will make the process a lot easier when determining the bike and foot traffic for a specific area.
“Oftentimes, we're applying for grants, and we have to provide numbers and data to document the need for the improvements that we're going for,” said Daryl Joseph, the director of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services department for the city.
Joseph said there are already five other mobile versions of the eco-counter at parks throughout the city, with plans to add more. The current kiosk is located on the Northbank Riverwalk.
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