Evaluation of Recreation Traffic Counters

The purpose of this project was to design a system that will allow FS employees to access visitor counts from their administrative office. This system will allow FS personnel to know when visitors are entering and leaving targeted sites. This information can be accessed from the office automatically at pre-determined times or initiated by the user when necessary.

Working with MTDC, SDTDC has designed and installed a system that utilizes the existing FS radio network to transmit data from the field to the office. Vehicle traffic counters and the necessary telemetry and communication equipment have been installed at Land Between the Lakes NRA. The installation allows for the automatic downloading of traffic count data to a FS desktop computer.

Mountain Bikes

In addition to the vehicle counters, new Mountain Bike counters have been installed. These counters were modified so they can communicate with the FS radio network. This will allow the FS to monitor bicycle traffic. The new mountain bike counters were evaluated for their ability to work in typical FS environments as well as for their ability produce accurate counts. Counts will be recorded with the date and time the visitor passed the site.

Installing Counter	Programming Mountain Bike w/ HP iPAQ
Mountain Bike Counter Installation	Telemetry Installation

This project is complete and the final project report can be viewed by accessing this file.