I was joined in Austin by two research assistants: my wife and our friend April. We headed out to East Sixth Street to discuss the logistics of doing surveys, and to conduct an evening count in the district.
One of the things I’m trying to look at is utility cycling outside of commute hours, which feels like it’s increased more than commute cycling in the past 10 years. East Sixth is the heart of Austin’s music district, so it gets a ton of traffic in the evening and night.
Watching the street activity, it was clear that most people get to the neighborhood by driving–in fact, the parking meters are enforced only from 6PM to midnight–but most of the drivers are carpoolers, people going out with friends or family. As I’d seen in the afternoon, there was light but steady bike traffic, and a handful of pedicabs.
While we were counting people we talked about procedures, methods, and logistics, and our shared impressions of transportation in the neighborhood where we were. The next morning we’d pick up rental bikes, join in a casual group ride, and start doing our own surveys.
