People Counters Go Live

The Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce’s new pedestrian and vehicle counting cameras went live July 1, 2021. If you have ever strolled through a mall, Times Square or Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, you have been counted by this technology. 

Currently there are six cameras in the village spanning between Gustav’s and the Wok About Grill. Each camera has an in count (peds walking towards the area between 8th and 9th) and an out count.

The data provides us with two different numbers, footfalls and visitors. Footfalls are the total number of times a person passes in front of the camera (no, these are not facial recognition cameras). This will always be a higher number as it represents the total amount of pedestrian traffic that takes place. This data can also be broken down by the hour showing when pedestrian traffic peaks on any given day.  

The visitor number is an estimate of the total number of individuals that visited the village. Three of the six cameras are at gateway/entrance points for pedestrians into the village, the monthly in count total for these three cameras provide us with an estimate for the total visitation for the month. In July 2021, the number was 380,000.  

These numbers, when aligned with hotel occupancy and parking lot data, can assist with future planning for the City of Leavenworth, as well as day-to-day operations for the Public Works Department. For our members, it can assist with tracking their retail sales and efforts to harvest more of the pedestrian traffic.  

From better understanding our visitation and how it impacts our economy, to helping manage our festivals, this data will be able help inform presentations, policies, and decisions for the Chamber of Commerce.

[Clarification: These cameras are not to be confused with the two live HD webcams that Chamber had installed for the visitor website.  They can be viewed here.]

Troy Campbell
Executive Director