Fort Collins’ FC Moves department will perform the city’s annual bicycle and pedestrian count this month.

Although the city uses automated bike and pedestrian counters, this annual count is manual. The count is done by volunteers, and they are still looking for about 100 volunteers to help fill the 131 two-hour shifts, City Bike Manager Tessa Greegor said.

Count times will be between 7-9 a.m., noon-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Sept. 15, Sept. 17 and Sept. 19. Volunteers are required to go to a training from 6-7 p.m. Sept. 10, where dinner will be provided.

Greegor said although automated counts are great, this manual count helps them identify things like gender, helmet use and what direction people are traveling though an intersection.

The counts will take place on 15 intersections and 11 trails. All volunteers will also be entered into a drawing to win multiple Fort Collins Downtown Business Association gift cards, according to a press release.

The information gathered from these counts will be used for future bicycle infrastructure improvements, as well as helping the city identify areas of focus regarding bicycle education and outreach programs, said Greegor.

“The annual bicyclist and pedestrian count is an exciting opportunity to generate the data FC Moves needs to prioritize future improvements for those who walk and ride bikes in our community,” Senior City Transportation Planner Amy Lewin said in a press release. “This project supports our community’s commitment to active transportation and making it a viable option for our growing city.”

Citizens can sign up to volunteer on the Fort Collins website or by contacting Tracey Lipfert.

Collegian Assistant News Editor Sady Swanson can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @sadyswan.