Determining bicycle infrastructure preferences – A case study of Dublin

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Abstract

This paper examines infrastructure preferences for cyclists and determines the factors that have the greatest influence on the correlation between the level of cycling confidence and preferred types of infrastructure and route characteristics. A stated preference survey is used to gauge preferences for a range of infrastructure types and route characteristics in Dublin. Facilities that were segregated from traffic are the preferred form of cycling infrastructure, regardless of cycling confidence. Routes through residential streets and parks are the second choice, where no specific infrastructure is provided with the exception of improvements in way-finding.

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,...
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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