A Guide to Summer Counting: Part 2 - Set up a System

Part 2 - Set up a system

Congratulations! If you completed the above steps, your counters should be in great shape. Now, the next challenge—solidifying the groundwork of your count program. Want to set yourself up for effortless counting this summer? Here's what we recommend:

1. Review your counter placement

Before traffic spikes in your park or on your roads, it’s a good idea to revisit why each counter is where it is. Are you still monitoring the right locations for your goals? 

❓ Questions to ask: 

• Are there new paths, entrances, or roads to consider?
  
• What am I trying to learn from my count data this year?
• Could I benefit from moving my counters or adding new ones?
  

🌟 Stay curious: Relocating counters or revisiting objectives can sometimes be very validating and insightful for your count program.

2. Plan for data sharing

Summer data is gold—think about how you want to use and share it. Jot it down it at the beginning of the season so you have something to look forward to at the end. Don’t let it sit in a database unused! 

🧠 Ideas: 

• Mid-season reports to city council or partner organizations
• Social media posts showing trail or bike lane popularity
• A running tally of counts to keep in the office or share in a newsletter

📑  Easy-peasy: Use automated reports in Eco-Visio to visualize your data and export it in multiple formats.

3. Schedule mid-season data checks

Even if everything is running smoothly in June, issues can creep up by July or August. Proactively scheduling mid-season data checks helps catch data anomalies before they become serious gaps. 

🗓️ What to do: 

• Set monthly reminders to review recent data
• Look for unusual drops, zero counts, or drastic spikes
• Compare counter performance across locations (if one counter drops to zero while others are steady, it's likely something's off)

⛑️ To the rescue: See an anomaly? Contact our team to get advice on what to do. In certain cases, you can take advantage of the data editing and reconstruction tools in Eco-Visio (but this isn't always the best solution!)

4. Clear vegetation and debris regularly

Overgrowth is a common summer issue, even if you cleared the area around your counters at the start of the season. Make sure you check on your counters to stop branches, grasses, cobwebs and other debris from blocking sensors or causing fake counts.

🌿 Maintenance tips: 

• Assign staff or volunteers to clear vegetation monthly, or every two to three weeks if your area has lots of plants
• Use weed barriers or mulch around counter bases where possible
• Take pictures or use small flags to mark where your counters are to find them easily in the summer
  

👻 Spooky: One plant blowing in the wind (and warmed by the sun) can repeatedly cross an infrared beam and cause hundreds of ghost counts per day—throwing off visitor analysis until it's cleared away.

5. Train seasonal staff to monitor and report issues

Seasonal staff are your front-line eyes on counter health. Help them get prepared with a quick training!

🧑‍🔧 Training checklist: 

• What a counter looks like and the basics of how it works
  
• How to visually inspect a counter for problems (e.g., plant blocking sensor, sensor not aligned, vandalism)
• Who to notify if something seems wrong

💬 Keep in touch: A simple group chat gives seasonal staff the power to report on problems as soon as they see them.

Up next: Part 3 - Use Your Data like a Pro.

Go back: Part 1 - Prep your Counters.