Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
Determining bicycle infrastructure preferences – A case study of Dublin
Highlights
► This paper presents a review of the infrastructure preferences for cyclists. ► The research reveals differences between cyclists for infrastructure preferences. ► The paper provides policy options for the construction of new cycle priority lanes.
Section snippets
Introduction and background
In Ireland, Smarter Travel, the National Sustainable Transport Policy marks a significant departure from previous national policies. It has a greater focus on strengthening Ireland’s road and public transport networks (Department of Transport, 2009a). In the light of growth projections of increasing car ownership and annual vehicle kilometres travelled, the plan’s target is to reduce work related car commuting by 65–45%. In relation to cycling, the strategy aims to secure a ‘strong culture of
Methodology
The stated preference experiments used included a route choice model that examines five key attributes; Table 1 outlines these and the attribute levels examined. The infrastructure options presented are highlighted in Fig. 1. These options were based on the five most common cycle route infrastructure types in Dublin.
A fractional factorial was designed that included two routes each with the same attributes but differing on the attribute levels. The design produced 64 scenarios for evaluation.
Results
The gender balance of respondents was relatively balanced, 51.8% male and 48.2% female. 45.7% of respondents were in the 25–34 age group and 26.1% in the 35–44 age group. 51.8% of the sample was shown to have one car and 31.2% had two cars in their household. The results for mode of transport used to travel to work showed that just under 30% of the sample drove alone on a regular basis to work. 14.9% indicated they walked and 18.1% said they cycled to work on a regular basis. In terms of
Summary of findings
Direct routes with short journey times were found to be the most important positive variable for existing cyclists and non-cyclists in determining route choice. This is followed by infrastructure type, the number of junctions along the route, traffic speed and cyclist volumes. In terms if infrastructure, regardless of the level of cycling confidence, routes which have ‘no facilities’ or ‘bus/cycle lanes’ are the least favoured cycle route types.
There appears to be no direct correlation between
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the National Transport Authority and Dublin City Council for their assistance in undertaking this research.
References (3)
- Department of Transport, 2009a. Smarter Travel: A New Transport Policy for Ireland 2009–2020, DoT,...
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