Rally Tally

[ginger]

DOT: Sturgis rally traffic down slightly from '08
Mount Rushmore bike traffic up slightly.
By Steve Miller, Journal staff | Thursday, August 13, 2009


Motorcycle traffic in and around Sturgis during this year's rally was slightly down from the 2008 rally, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The DOT's electronic traffic counters at eight entrances to Sturgis tallied 394,009 vehicles for the seven official days of the rally, Aug. 3-9, a decrease of 2.8 percent from 2008's count of 405,475.


The 2009 total was the lowest since the 1996 rally, when a total of 386,490 vehicles were counted entering Sturgis for the seven official days of the rally.

However, using data from the DOT's 24 counters for nine days, including Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 1-2, traffic was down 1.9 percent for the same nine days in 2008, according to the DOT report released Thursday.

The largest number of vehicles counted for the official seven days of the rally, 605,140, came during the 2003 rally. The traffic, as counted by DOT, has been in a general decline since (see box).

However, motorcycle visitation at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, another barometer of rally size, was slightly up during this year's rally.

The 78,469 motorcycles that came to Rushmore over 11 days, July 31 through Aug. 10, was up two-tenths of 1 percent over the same period of 2008, according to David Frankenbery, lead dispatcher at Rushmore. Rushmore staffers physically count each motorcycle as it comes into the memorial. Rushmore uses a factor of 1.45 people per motorcycle, for an estimate of 113,789 bikers visiting during the rally.

At Sturgis, traffic started out strong over the rally's first weekend, then dropped later in the rally's official week, said Doug Kinniburgh, DOT region traffic engineer. From Saturday through Monday, Aug. 1-3, traffic was up 2.3 percent, he said.

Patterns elsewhere in the Hills were similar, Kinniburgh said. "We had a number of crews out doing road cleanup, and they felt it was pretty heavy all through the Hills area early on in the week."

With the national economy in recession and motorcycle sales plummeting earlier this year, there was plenty of speculation before this year's rally that it would be much smaller than last year's event.

Sturgis Mayor Maury LaRue called the drop-off in traffic minimal, considering the series of storms that plagued this year's rally. "On Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Aug. 6-8), we had weather where nobody was traveling," LaRue said. On Friday, bikers sought cover from an intense, damaging hailstorm.

"Last year we had 10 good days," LaRue said. "How do you accurately make a comparison?"

Although sales tax figures from the rally won't be available for weeks (or months in the case of permanent businesses that report quarterly), LaRue said he is not concerned about a decline in city sales tax revenue if the rally crowd was indeed smaller.

That's partly because motorcycle tourism in Sturgis for the remainder of the summer has been good for the past three years, Larue said. "We have seen a significant increase in biker attendance in May, June and July," he said. "And we still have late August and September."

Also, he said the city's sponsorship revenue was up nearly 15 percent this year.

LaRue said the city generates revenue that is well over the approximately $1.2 million it costs to host the rally.

He said the revenue helps maintain the infrastructure needed for the rally, such as an extra garbage truck and four ambulances that the city needs only during the rally, plus the full-time paid shifts for its normally volunteer firefighters, as well as extra emergency medical personnel and the greatly enlarged police force.

The mayor also said he was pleasantly surprised that traffic accidents were down considerably from previous years and that Sturgis and Meade County didn't have a fatal accident.

"Our biggest concern is I want them to be safe," LaRue said. "This year was a good, safe year. If they have a safe experience, they'll want to come back," he said.

"I think we can chalk this up as a success."

[Mtclassic]

2/10 of 1% increase to Rushmore, seems like they are really grasping for something positive to report LOL. I did go to Mount Rushmore this year and did not last year so I probably was the difference

[Dr.Hess]

Yeah, we went to Rushmore this year too. First time since '90 or so. I guess we were the difference also.

Ten Bucks to get in. Each bike. Like we haven't paid for that thing already. Whatever. I guess it will be another 20 years before they get me there again.


All in all, we had a good time this year. I'd say better than the average Sturgis, and a lot more fun than the really crowded ones.

[Mtclassic]

it kind of bugged me how once you were there you were stuck and no way to get back out. Some teenage girl runs up and sticks a wrist band on your handlebars and says that's $10. Oh well it is pretty amazing.

[djdemarce]

Kind of a funny story from a few years ago. My buddies and I were riding in the Mt. Rushmore area and they all moved to the left lane while I stayed in the right lane for some reason. The right lane is entrance only to the park. I told the lady in the booth that I got separated from my group and I just wanted to turn around!

"Nope", "that'll be $10 bucks, you can drive thru and exit the other side"

Well as long as I was there I took a few pics, called my friends who wondered where the hell I'd gone, and met up with them a few miles down the road. They still don't let me forget it!

[Anja]

Thanks for the stats, Ginger.

Now all we gotta do is work on getting at least one wimmin-type face up on a mountain somewhere.

(Looks like there's a little room to Mr. Washington's right there. . .)