County volunteers and partners flag counter accuracy, vandalism and data-sharing needs
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Summary
At the March Trails Advisory Committee meeting county staff and volunteers reviewed trail-counter technologies, reported vandalism and offline units, and discussed data quality problems (vegetation triggers and cellular coverage) that complicate using counts for funding applications.
County volunteers and staff presented a countywide review of trail counters — the devices used to estimate trail visitation — and the committee discussed reliability, vandalism and data-sharing options.
Gordon (speaker 8), who manages many of the county’s counters, summarized deployments and technologies: "There are at least 3 different styles of counters," he said, outlining photo-optic/infrared units, Zelt loop designs that can distinguish bicycles, and simpler nano counters that require manual visits to collect data. He cautioned that some locations produce misleading totals: "Hollywood Beach was I think being triggered by vegetation," producing unusually high counts that can inflate funding applications.
Members reported several units were offline or vandalized; Gordon said the counter at Eagle Creek was dismantled and is no longer functional, and other counters (JST library, Larry Scott) have been vandalized or removed. He recommended against insurance claims for inexpensive units and said volunteers and county staff handle maintenance including battery changes and manual data collection.
Discussion covered data-sharing and privacy: members said counters are owned by different organizations and emphasized the value of aggregating data into one platform. Laurie Madman suggested geo-fencing as a targeted data source for lodging-tax applications, and members discussed limitations and privacy concerns tied to cell-based approaches. Committee members also emphasized the need to coordinate with tribal councils before installing counters on tribal land (La Push).
The presentation concluded with planned deployments for additional counters and an offer to share reports and logins for the EcoVision data platform used by some permanent counters.
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