Pedestrian Counts

The Metropolitan Improvement District conducts pedestrian counts each year during the important summer (August) and holiday (December) seasons. These counts are done during the “peak” times over the course of one weekday: the morning commute, lunch rush and the afternoon commute. Each shift is 1.5 hours. Nine sites have been consistently counted since 2007. The summer 2011 count included 17 sites throughout downtown.

Here’s a snapshot of the findings from the 2011 pedestrian counts:

• For most sites, summer (August) waves tend to be the busiest.
• A new site at 5th and Olive (near the South Lake Union Streetcar terminus at McGraw Square) saw the highest level of traffic in August 2011.
• Besides 5th and Olive, sites at 6th and Pine and 4th and Pine continue to be the busiest in all seasons, especially during the Holiday wave.
• Sites at 1st and Yesler (Pioneer Square), Alaskan and Seneca (Waterfront) and 9th and Westlake consistently see more traffic in the summer than in the winter. 
• South Lake Union has seen steady increases each year.
• Summer 2011 saw an increase overall from summer 2010 but was on par with counts from previous years.  

Find more information and detailed reports at the links below:

• 2011 Holiday Pedestrian Count Summary
• 2011 Summer Pedestrian Count Summary
• 2010 Holiday Pedestrian Count Summary
• Historical Pedestrian Counts
• Downtown Seattle Pedestrian Counts Interactive Graph

For pedestrian count reports from past years, visit our Research Library.