Okay, so I wanted to track how many people were coming to our local farmer’s market. You know, get a real sense of how popular it’s getting. I figured a foot traffic counter would be perfect, so I started poking around to see what my options were.

Figuring Out the Setup

First, I needed to decide where to put the thing. I walked around the market area and finally settled on the main entrance. It’s a pretty wide opening, so I knew I’d need something that could handle that.

I considered a few different types of counters. There are those beam-break ones, where you have a sensor on each side, and it counts when someone breaks the beam. Then there are the thermal ones, which sense body heat. And of course, there are video-based ones, which use cameras and some fancy software.

Making a Choice (and Some Mistakes!)

I initially thought a simple beam-break counter would be the easiest. I ordered one online – a cheap one, to be honest. Big mistake! It arrived, and I spent an afternoon trying to get it aligned properly. The market entrance is outdoors, and the sunlight kept messing with the sensors. It was counting all sorts of things that weren’t people – shadows, birds, even the occasional tumbleweed (we get those here!). It was a total mess.

So, back to the drawing board. I realized I needed something more robust, something designed for outdoor use and less sensitive to light changes.

Going With a Video Counter

After a bit more research, I decided to try a video-based counter. This seemed like a step up in terms of complexity, but also in terms of accuracy. I found one that claimed to be weatherproof and have good software for analyzing the data. It was definitely more expensive than the first one, but I figured it was worth it if it actually worked.

The video counter arrived, and I got to work setting it up. This involved mounting the camera above the entrance, running a power cable, and then connecting it to my laptop to configure the software. The software was a little tricky at first – lots of settings to adjust – but I eventually figured it out. I drew a “counting zone” on the video feed, basically telling the software where to look for people walking through.

Testing and Tweaking

Of course, I had to test it! I spent a good hour just walking back and forth through the entrance myself, watching the software to see if it counted me correctly. I also roped in a few friends to help (bribed them with fresh produce!). We tried different walking speeds, different group sizes, even carrying bags and strollers to see if it would throw off the count. It was actually pretty fun, in a nerdy sort of way.

There were a few hiccups. Sometimes it would double-count someone if they lingered near the entrance. And once, it counted a dog as a person (oops!). But after tweaking the sensitivity settings and adjusting the counting zone a bit, I got it working pretty reliably.

The Results (Finally!)

I left the counter running during the next market day. It was awesome! I could see the numbers going up in real-time on my laptop. And afterward, I could look at the data and see exactly when the peak times were, how many people came in total, and even get an idea of how long people were staying.

The data showed that the attendance increased by 20% compared with last year’s data.

It was definitely a learning process, and I made some mistakes along the way. But in the end, I got a working foot traffic counter that gave me some really useful insights into our farmer’s market. Now, I can share this data with the organizers, and they can use it to make the market even better!