On Monday this week at 2:45pm, the 100,000th cyclist registered on the Cyclist Counter in downtown Mexico City. As the Cyclist Counter has been located outside the new Reforma 222 building since November 16, 2013, the impressive figure was reached in just 2 months. ITDP Mexico recognized the City of Mexico as the 2013 “Ciclociudad” (Cyclecity). The city received the cyclist counter for their recent achievements in several areas related to biking, including pubic policies, infrastructure, intermobility, and public biking systems in the city such as Ecobici.
Miguel Angel Mancera, the head of the government in the Federal District, personally recieved the counter at a cermony in November. The counter was a gift from the Danish Government to Mexico City, and was presented by his Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness the Prince and Princess of Denmark. According to the data registered by the counter, the average number of daily cyclists passing by the counter is 1,723. The day with the most cyclists thus far was Tuesday, November 26th, 2013, while the day with the fewest was December 25th. The counter presents live, updated data, and can be seen online here.
“The counter is a technical registering instrument and the first physical measure to demonstrate to city residents the increase in cyclists. It aims to be an important source of information for the count of annual cyclists that pass through the zone, and that use bicycle as their mode of transport, generating a sense of community amoung urban cyclists,” said Tanya Müller, Secretary of the Environment for the Federal District.
The prize was the result of a study “Ranking Ciclociudades”, carried out by ITDP during the last several months, in which 17 local governments of Mexican cities were evaluated on their performance relating to urban cycling. The Ranking provided, for the first time in Mexico, general information about biking programs, advanced measurement and incentives for practices that promote a culture of urban cycling in Mexico.
For more information, please contact Nicole Medgenberg at nicole.m@itdp.org