Bicyclist & Pedestrian Count Reports
With the help of staff and volunteers, the Planning Division routinely conducts Pedestrian & Bicyclist counts throughout Columbia. By counting pedestrians and bicyclists, volunteers help to ensure that all of the City’s residents count: transit riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists are often not accounted for in traffic studies – the same traffic studies used to make important decisions about our City’s landscape. Volunteers are essential to the survey process, and counts are generally held in the Spring and Fall of each year – you can sign up to receive Walk Bike Columbia emails to stay in the loop for future count opportunities!
Our 2023 counts have concluded, and we’re working to analyze the data collected. You can review reports on data collected during previous counts below!
Help make sure we all count!
Volunteers sign up to count for a two-hour time period, on a weekend (Saturday from 10am – noon) or weekday (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 7:30 – 9:30am). Sign up using the link below; you may select your location and date from a preset list. Wondering what counting entails? Watch this quick training video to learn more.
Count dates:
- Saturdays, 10am – 12pm, April 6, April 13, and April 20
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, 7:30 – 9:30am, April 9-11 and April 16-18
Blue Bike Bike Share Program
The bike share system is temporarily out of service due to the previous operator, Bewegen, shuttering their operations in Spring of 2023.
Bikes and Transit in Columbia, SC
Racks have been provided to increase mobility of customers and encourage the sued of alternative transportation, the COMET has installed bike racks on all of the COMET Buses. These Racks can hold two standard bikes. A Rack and Role Brochure is available at the COMET website.
Bike Friendly Businesses
Bicycle Parking
There are a number of bike racks throughout the City, and that number is constantly growing. For an interactive map showing bike parking locations, please visit the City’s GIS public information viewer – bike racks are visible under “Recreation & Transportation” tab. If you know of a bike rack that isn’t showing up (or one that is no longer there), please email us at [email protected], and we’ll get it fixed!
City of Columbia Bike Rack Partnership Program
The City of Columbia’s Bike Rack Partnership Program works to provide installation of sponsored bike parking on public property. Businesses or individuals can sponsor a single rack (2 bike capacity) or a bike corral, and the City’s Public Works Department will install the bike parking at no cost.
BPAC Facebook Page
The City of Columbia BPAC has a Facebook page, which hosts additional events and resources.
Local Trail Systems
A map of existing bike facilities is available on the City’s interactive GIS public information viewer. There are a number of trail systems and trail networks in the Midlands Area – a few are listed below (not all allow bicycles).
- Palmetto Trail
- Three Rivers Greenway
- Harbison State Park Trails
- South Carolina State Parks
- Congaree National Park
- SCDNR Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve
- U of SC Belser Arboretum
- Fort Jackson Trails:
- Palmetto Trail (see above)
- Recreational Cycling (see below)
Cycling Organizations
- Columbia Composite NICA mountain bike team (grades 6-12)
- Midlands SORBA
- Palmetto Cycling Coalition
- Palmetto Conservation Foundation
Recreational Cycling at Fort Jackson
The Fort requires non-affiliated individuals (those who do not normally have access to the base) to sign up for a MWR Cycling Membership; follow these instructions to gain access. Affiliated and non-affiliated individuals must also register with, as well as sign in when using the base, through iSportsman.