Volunteer project · since 2019
How many people ride the lakefront?
We maintain a handful of automatic trail counters along the shoreline and keep every hourly count in one place, so neighborhood groups and students don't have to ask for spreadsheets.
A typical weekday
6 amnoon6 pm10 pm
Illustrative profile. Commute peaks are visible on almost every counter from April to October.
hourlycount resolution
2019–nowcontinuous record
bikes + feetseparate channels per counter
API
The API is for project members and partner groups. Keys are issued by the maintainers; public sign-up is closed while we move to new hardware.
| Method | Path | Returns |
|---|---|---|
| GET | /counts/v1/hourly | Latest hourly totals for every counter your key can read |
| GET | /counts/v1/daily | Daily totals, with from and to |
| GET | /counts/v1/counters | Counter list with location and status |
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <key>" https://<host>/counts/v1/hourly
{ "counter": "example-north", "hour": "2026-09-30T17:00:00-05:00",
"bikes": 214, "pedestrians": 96 }FAQ
- Who runs this?
- A few volunteers. Counters are maintained on weekends; gaps in the data are marked, not filled in.
- Can I use the data in a report?
- Yes, with attribution. Ask a maintainer for an export if you don't have an API key.
- Why do numbers drop in winter?
- Fewer riders, and two counters are taken in for the season.