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Using automated active infrared counters to estimate footfall on urban park footpaths: behavioural stability and
1Centre for Physical Activity and Life Sciences, University of Northampton, Northampton, NN1 5PH, UK. Declan.Ryan@northampton.ac.uk.
Summary
Automated infrared counters require at least four weeks of data for stable urban park footfall estimates. While generally accurate, they may underestimate counts, especially for groups.
Area of Science:
- Urban ecology
- Environmental monitoring
- Park management
Background:
- Infrared counters offer unobtrusive urban park footfall assessment.
- Reliability and validity issues necessitate guidance for infrared counter use.
Purpose of the Study:
- Determine optimal data collection duration for stable seasonal footfall estimates.
- Validate infrared counter footfall data against manual observations.
Main Methods:
- Collected 365-day footfall data using infrared counters in an urban park.
- Analyzed data stability using intraclass correlation coefficients across seasons.
- Conducted 10 manual observation hours for validity comparison.
Main Results:
- Four weeks (28 days) of data yield 'good' to 'excellent' seasonal footfall estimates.
- Infrared counters underestimated footfall by an average of -4.65 counts/hour (13.7% MAPE).
- Infrared counts explained 98% of the variance in manual observations.
Conclusions:
- Abbreviated infrared data collection schedules can provide reliable footfall estimates.
- Automated infrared counters are strongly associated with manual counts but may underestimate group activity.
- Methodological recommendations are provided for optimizing infrared counter usage.
