The Schuylkill River Trail often is viewed as a recreational amenity.

But some trail-users prefer to stay off the beaten path for functional reasons. For them, it's easier to commute via bicycle on the trail than it is to fight bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Now, trail enthusiasts are trying to determine just how many people use the trail for commuting and how many use it for recreation.

Members of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia and the Schuylkill River Project have teamed to perform what they call "trail counts," taking to the streets and observing the number, and type, of cyclists who come through Philadelphia's portion of the trail, which goes along the Schuylkill's eastern bank from Center City up through the Northwest.

In addition to helping develop an idea of how many people use the trail on a regular basis, the move is also geared toward generating a sense of where those users are coming from, where they're going, and what they view as the "gaps" in the trail in need of enhancement.

"It's really easy to capture and engage people who live around something," said Kay Sykora, director of the Schuylkill Project, a river advocacy group. "But what we don't capture easily are the people who use it and really get a sense of what they want, what their interests are. We want to understand what they need and engage them, hopefully, in what we're doing."

Sykora said that, if the group can prove there's a definite commuter use of the trail, they may have an easier time securing federal transportation dollars.

"The commuter aspect is integral to federal funding sources," she said.

Sykora knows some trail users are traveling to and from work; she has talked with those who work for the Department of Environmental Protection, for instance, which has an office in Norristown.

"A lot of those folks live what they believe in, and there are other people, too," she said, referring to those who work in environmental fields, and practice what they preach.

Trail advocates' latest venture, Sykora said, stems from the fact that there's federal money set aside for transportation projects. If local officials can tap into those dollars, it could help make the trail - which has been built piecemeal since the 1970s - that much better.

"The desire is to make a case for the bikeway system," Sykora said. "If some of these gaps ... are filled, people will use it."

The problem now is that federal transportation dollars might not be that easy to come by, whether those seeking funding have a detailed plan or not. According to Sarah Clark Stuart, campaign director for the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition, transportation funds that come from a federal bill reviewed every six years have been delayed for six months, perhaps due to the state of the economy.

Nevertheless, Stuart said it's still important to have a plan in place that can be shown to elected officials when it does come time to seek funding.

"It just helps make the case that there is a diverse set of uses," she said. "It also speaks to (the fact) that it's a diverse set of people using it, not just one sector of the population, but really it runs the whole gamut. It's about people using it as a way to get to work, and saving money and maintaining good health."

Chris Kingsley, a Manayunk resident who started Ivy Ridge Green, a volunteer group dedicated to cleanup efforts along the trail, said the trail counts are interesting because it puts down on paper what those who live nearby already know - that the trail is a heavily used route for both recreation and transportation.

"We noticed this, sort of anecdotally, from living there," said Kingsley, who resides on Wright Street near Umbria Street.

As someone who often travels to West Philly via the Schuylkill River Trail, Kingsley said there are noticeable gaps near his home. It's difficult to get from the area of Umbria Street in Manayunk to Kelly Drive in Fairmount. Once you get to the latter, "it's really easy," he said, but "a couple of those connections are really discouraging for people."

So, while the "trail counts" are about numbers, they're also about identifying areas of the trail that could be improved from a user's perspective.

"I think it's more helpful to get people to say what they perceive are the gaps," said the Bicycle Coalition's Stuart. "I think it's helpful for elected officials to see that there's data to back this up."

While people like Sykora have volunteered to go out and communicate with those who pass by on the trail, either on two legs or two wheels, there is already a system in place designed to capture the number of users. Electronic counters are placed along the trail, (in hidden spots so as to not risk being vandalized or stolen), in various parts of the city, as well as in suburban portions. (The trail ends in Schuylkill County). Fairmount Park, she said, is in the process of gathering information related to the number of trail users. The counters were installed by the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area.

"The data from that is very interesting because it really shows the difference that the breaks in the trail makes," Sykora said.

Stuart said while the electronic counts are helpful, the personal interaction is perhaps more beneficial because it shows what types of people are using the trail, and for what purpose.

"We have no idea what they're doing," she said. "We just know how many. That's what's kind of neat about this."

Recent counts have taken place in the Shawmont area of Roxborough as well as in the portion of the trail near the SEPTA transfer station in East Falls.

In addition to trail counts, advocates like Kingsley continue to lend a hand in other ways. Aside from his group's ongoing effort to make portions of the trail, and potential future portions, aesthetically pleasing and passable, Kingsley is also working toward securing cooperation with city agencies that may be able to help.

One idea is to open up the historic Manayunk Bridge, the stone arch viaduct that connects Montgomery County to Philadelphia, and incorporate it into the trail. So far, Kingsley said, Lower Merion Township officials have been successful in getting SEPTA's attention, he said, but those on the city side still have some work to do.

"It's a leadership issue, because the city is in panic mode now with the budget issues," he said.

The pending merger of the city's Recreation Department and Fairmount Park also have put things on hold.

But to Kingsley, one thing's for sure - if trail advocates can make those in charge see the benefits of alternative means of transportation, there's no telling how far this thing can go.

"Everybody I talk to thinks that as soon as the economy picks up, there's a chance gas prices will go back up," he said. "In the long term, it makes all the sense in the world, basically, to have a 14-mile green transportation corridor in Philadelphia."

Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com