Waikato District Council collects traffic count data each financial year on selected roads. We do this so we can monitor the number of vehicles using that road and track any increases or decreases in traffic volume. As well as counting the number of vehicles travelling down the local road of interest, we may also estimate what percentage of vehicles turn off or onto it from one or more relevant side roads.
This helps us to plan what's needed now and in the future in relation to road maintenance and design, repairs and development.
Traffic counts are used in relation to road safety and moving livestock across or along roads from one part of a farm to another. Property owners apply for permits to do this and in some cases they also need a traffic management plan. Where possible, a stock underpass can replace a road-level stock crossing. When this is done, the Council provides a subsidy to the property owner towards the cost of constructing the underpass, based on traffic counts for that section of road.
How we collect the data
We use specialised equipment including sensor cables installed across the road at one or more key points. The sensors send a signal back to a recording device whenever a vehicle drives over them. When we get results from a traffic count, we store them in our Road Assessment and Maintenance Management (RAMM) database. The collected data is recorded as AADT (Annual Average Daily Traffic) counts - ADT for short. The raw traffic count data comes with speed and axle classification (heavy commercial vehicles), so it's possible to separate out trucks and other heavy vehicles from cars as part of the overall vehicle total.
Viewing and requesting traffic count info
Waikato district local roads data
You can view our most recent traffic count data free online in our traffic counts table. This summarises the road name and the section of it which has been monitored and the monitoring date. Vehicle totals are noted as counted or estimated.
You can contact us to request more detailed information in relation to a specific traffic count. For example, you might want to find out what percentage of vehicles were heavy/commercial vehicles used that road during the monitoring period. However, note that we can only provide this information for vehicles that were 'counted' on the local road being monitored, rather than 'estimated' in relation to its side road/s.
You can also contact us to request a special traffic count for a local road in your area (one where traffic counts haven't been done in the past five years). A small charge for this service may be required and we can discuss this when you make your request.
Waikato district state highways data
You can also view traffic count data for state highways in the Waikato region and our district free on the NZ Transport Agency website.