Since this disappeared from General when General disappeared I think it'd be nice to have it still "on the map" as it were.
The current traffic measurement system is clearly directed towards social spaces, which naturally become more attractive when more people spend more time there. It is still, infamously, abused by the use of camping chairs.
But this is relatively minor in comparison to the effect it has on commercial builds. For some types of shopping, such as clothes shopping, it's natural to spend a long time browsing in shops that you like, but this does not apply to every market. Shops which enable you to arrive, quickly find what you want, buy it and then move on are penalised by low traffic figures.
In the extreme case, it's possible for a shop to be rewarded for generating lag! Once a shop has achieved sufficient brand recognition that people will not simply leave if they are made to wait too long, a laggy build can actually increase traffic since people spend longer there waiting for the area to rez.
I've been informed by a number of successful sellers that they have had to allow for this: many recommended operating a small store for only as long as it takes to achieve brand recognition and then opening up space to other similar merchants, creating a large, spaced out and often busy and therefore laggy mall as the only way to ensure access to traffic figures comparable to social locations.
Are there any plans to modify traffic counting or introduce the option for a land owner to select a traffic counting strategy?