Urban areas
Published on Jun 15, 2022

Five best practices for monitoring park visitation with count data

                By: Raphael Chapalain
              

1. Define your goals

Think about exactly what you want to accomplish with your count data. For example, do you want to identify trends in visitor flows over time, determine usage patterns, measure the impact of renovations, or find out which facilities are being used the most?

2. Identify key sites to place the counters

Choose the busiest or most representative locations in the park to place the counters, such as trailheads, feeder trails, visitor centers, etc.

3. Use automated counts to extrapolate manual counts

Continuous automated counts can be used to extrapolate data from short-term manual counts. This method allows you to cover a larger area with fewer automatic counters.

4. Consider how you’ll share the data

Do you need to communicate with administrators, other departments, or the public? Websites and reports are effective ways to raise awareness, strengthen messaging, and share data.

5. Mix qualitative and quantitative data to gain better insights

While automated count data reveals baselines and trends, manual observations and surveys gather data on demographics and behaviour. This continuous quality data can be used to improve park maintenance and management, justify new funding, write better grant applications, and more.

Let us monitor park visitation for you

Whether you’re planning a new park or implementing a counting system in an existing park, we can help. From setting your organization’s goal for data collection to choosing the right locations for the counters to analyzing the data, the Eco-Counter team can guide you every step of the way.

Call 1-866-518-4404 or send us an email to book a meeting with one of our client consultants.


Subscribe to our blog

Product suggestion

The CITIX-AI Evo lets you count a wide range of modes in areas with mixed traffic

CITIX-AI Evo

An artificial intelligence traffic monitoring solution for multi-modal environments.

Ce produit sera supprimé de votre liste d’intérêts. Souhaitez-vous continuer ?
Annuler Enlever de ma liste
Fait ! Cette solution est à présent dans votre liste d’intérêts
Retour Voir ma liste
PYRO_BOX_EVO_people-counter

PYRO-Box Evo

Our most versatile people counter yet. Count in any environment with this battery-powered and discreet counter.

Ce produit sera supprimé de votre liste d’intérêts. Souhaitez-vous continuer ?
Annuler Enlever de ma liste
Fait ! Cette solution est à présent dans votre liste d’intérêts
Retour Voir ma liste
MULTI Evo is the ideal solution for counting and classifying users in natural environments.

MULTI Evo Nature

A pedestrian, cyclist, and scooter counter designed for the outdoor environment.

Ce produit sera supprimé de votre liste d’intérêts. Souhaitez-vous continuer ?
Annuler Enlever de ma liste
Fait ! Cette solution est à présent dans votre liste d’intérêts
Retour Voir ma liste

More to read:

How to Win Park Grants and Funding with Count Data
Published on Jul 23, 2025

How to Win Park Grants and Funding with Count Data

Our Guide to Counter Vandalism (With Real-World Examples!)
Published on Jul 16, 2025

Our Guide to Counter Vandalism (With Real-World Examples!)

Eco-Counter index: analysis of bicycle traffic in the first half of 2025 (Europe)
Published on Jun 30, 2025

Eco-Counter index: analysis of bicycle traffic in the first half of 2025 (Europe)