What Are Those Boxes at Holmes Run?

If you’ve walked, jogged or biked along the Holmes Run Trail recently, you might have seen olive-green boxes strapped waist-high to trees along the walkway.

The boxes are actually counters to document how many people use the trail on a daily basis, said Carrie Sanders, Alexandria’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Program manager. The city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee performs a manual count each year, and the counters will supplement that data, Sanders said.

“These trail counters that we have out there help us check the number of the manual counts to see how reliable that data is and to see if we can provide more data,” Sanders said.

Alexandria park planner Dana Wedeles said one counter is located at the Beatley Bridge, and one is located on the trail just south of the bridge. The counters are currently at Holmes Run Trail only, but city staff are considering adding them to other trails if they can secure the funds to do so.

In May, volunteers will take part in the Alexandria Documentation Project, which counts the number of cyclists and pedestrians using city trails using the methodology of the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.

Jim Durham, vice chairman of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said volunteers will count pedestrians and cyclists for two-hour periods at 12 locations throughout the city.

One count will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on a weekday to assess commuter-heavy traffic. The other will take place on a Saturday afternoon to count more recreational traffic.