Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Studies have shown that, since the early 1980s, the prevalence of overweight children and youth in the U.S. has tripled from approximately five to 16 percent of the population. Simultaneously, fewer and fewer children have been walking and cycling to school. Children—especially those aged 10 to 15 years—have some of the highest per capita traffic-related bicycle fatality and injury rates. While bicycle organizations, states and communities across the country have developed a variety of education programs independently and cooperatively with the National Safe Routes to School program, there is a lack of evaluation of the impact on bicycle safety, of different programs in different contexts, and of whether educational interventions reduce the risk of crashes and injuries. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Safe Routes to School programs with in-school bicycle education at reducing the crash rate and improving the safety of children and youth cyclists. The causal-comparative research design utilized bicycle mode share data collected from the National Center for Safe Routes to School for five existing programs—Boulder Valley School District Safe Routes to School, Eugene-Springfield Safe Routes to School, Safe Routes Philly, Portland Safe Routes to School, and Marin County Safe Routes to School—and crash data before and after program implementation for those respective communities. The crash assessment revealed a decreasing trend in crashes involving children and youth cyclists around treatment schools in the Eugene, OR and Philadelphia, PA program study areas, and at the aggregate level across program areas; but, this trend was not statistically significant when compared to the change in crashes around control schools in a quasi-experimental analysis. Nevertheless, the increase in students cycling to and from school reported by all but one of the programs, and the increase in exposure to crash risk as a result, indicated that the Safe Routes to School programs did not cause a decrease in the safety of student cyclists. Additional rigorous evaluations are needed utilizing randomized controlled design to maximize the reliability of reported findings and to aid decisions about where to invest resources in community-based approaches to injury prevention for cyclists.

This thesis examines the bicycle cultures found in the United States and the Netherlands. The cities of Claremont, California, San Luis Obispo, California, and Groeningen, Netherlands are used as case studies to compare bicycle policies and infrastructure. Bicycle-friendly cities require bicycle master plans that address accessibility, education and promotion, safe infrastructure, and parking. A successful bicycle culture improves a city’s environmental sustainability, health, equity, and access. Most importantly, a safe and convenient bicycle environment builds community interaction.

The bicycle as a means of transport is an important part of a more transport-efficient society as well as to reach Sweden's and the world's climate goals. It also has other advantages, it is a healthy, flexible, and surface-efficient means of transport that does not cause noise and thus provides socio-economic benefits. For more people to want to cycle, however, a cycling infrastructure that a majority of the population feels safe and comfortable with is required. An understanding of different cyclists' infrastructure preferences is therefore of great importance in planning. The purpose of this report is to investigate whether the cycling infrastructure in the city of Stockholm fulfills the degree of perceived safety and comfort which in turn makes it possible to reach the city's targeted number of cyclists. To investigate this, a literature study was conducted on the relationship between bicycle infrastructure, perceived safety and comfort and choosing the bicycle as a means of transport. Bicycle typologies are then examined to see how these relationships vary within the population. This is applied in a Stockholm context through a case study of the Alvik-KTH route where an inventory was conducted to understand the present conditions regarding bicycle infrastructure. Furthermore, an interview was conducted with officials at the City of Stockholm to understand how planning is done practically in the city and which limitations exist within bicycle planning. The study shows that there are differences in infrastructure preferences between different parts of the population. A majority prefers a traffic-separated cycling infrastructure that they feel is safe and comfortable. Currently, these preferences are not met on a large part of the Alvik-KTH route, whereby it may be difficult to reach the City of Stockholm's target for number of cyclists. The City of Stockholm has ambitions to reach a high standard of cycling infrastructure. This study shows that this standard corresponds to the preferences of a majority of the population to some extent. To meet the preferences to a greater extent, supplementary guidelines and measures are needed, which can be taken from leading cycling nations such as the Netherlands. The City also has a limited budget and a street space where many interests must come together. When and to what extent an improvement of the cycle infrastructure can take place is therefore a matter of political priorities. / Cykeln som transportmedel är en viktig del i ett mer transporteffektivt samhälle och för att nå Sveriges och världens klimatmål. Den har även många andra fördelar, det är ett hälsosamt, flexibelt och yteffektivt transportmedel som inte orsakar buller och av dessa anledningar ger samhällsekonomiska vinster. För att fler ska vilja cykla krävs dock en cykelinfrastruktur som en majoritet av befolkningen känner sig säker och komfortabel med. En förståelse för olika individers cykelinfrastrukturpreferenser är därför av stor vikt i planeringen.  Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka om cykelinfrastrukturen i Stockholms stad uppfyller den grad av upplevd säkerhet och komfort som i sin tur gör det möjligt att nå stadens mål om antal cyklister. För att undersöka detta genomfördes en litteraturstudie kring sambanden mellan cykelinfrastruktur, upplevd säkerhet samt komfort och att välja cykeln som färdmedel. Därefter undersöks cykeltypologier för att se hur dessa samband varierar inom befolkningen. Detta appliceras i en Stockholmskontext genom en fallstudie över stråket Alvik-KTH där en inventering genomfördes för att förstå förutsättningarna för cykelinfrastrukturen. Vidare genomfördes en intervju med tjänstepersoner på Stockholms stad för att förstå hur cykelplaneringen praktiskt går till inom staden och vilka begränsningar som finns. Studien visar att det finns skillnader i infrastrukturpreferenser mellan olika delar av befolkningen. En majoritet föredrar en trafikseparerad cykelinfrastruktur som de upplever är säker och komfortabel. I dagsläget är dessa preferenser inte uppfyllda på en större del av stråket Alvik-KTH varvid det kan bli svårt att nå Stockholms stads mål om antal cyklister. Stockholms stad har ambitioner om att nå en hög standard på cykelinfrastrukturen. Denna studie visar att denna standard till viss del motsvarar de preferenser som en majoritet av befolkningen har. För att i högre grad möta preferenserna behövs kompletterande riktlinjer och åtgärder, vilka kan hämtas från ledande cykelnationer som Nederländerna. Staden har dessutom en begränsad budget och ett gaturum där många intressen ska samsas. När och i vilken utsträckning en förbättring av infrastrukturen kan ske är därför en fråga om politiska prioriteringar.

Bicycle traffic in Stockholm has varied a lot during the 18th century. During the latter part ofthe century, the city primarily funded the development of the city's public transportationsystem, rather than the bicycle infrastructure as many other cities did. The city ́ s bike mapsare seen as lacking and hard to read, which may be a reason for the bicycle share being lowerthan possible.The aim of the study is to produce a suggestion for a simplified bicycle network map overStockholm, in the same style as a public transportation map. Furthermore, Stockholm´sbicycle planning has been examined to gain a better understanding of the documents andactors involved in the city's bicycle planning, and the influence they have.The study was conducted through a literature study examining the bicycle infrastructure inStockholm and other European cities. The study primarily examined the factors contributingto a good bicycle network, but also how a route map can be developed and how heightdifferences along a bike route can be illustrated. In addition to the literary study an interviewwith a traffic planner at Stockholm´s municipality was conducted, giving a good look into thecity’s bicycle planning as well as presenting many different perspectives on the area. In orderto produce the map, the current bicycle infrastructure was surveyed, whereafter a map wasproduced based on the literary study´s design principles.It was found that Stockholm ́ s politicians to a large extent manage the bicycle planning, whichthe city´s traffic department then implements. The city bases its bicycle planning on its ownbicycle plan, which is complemented by the city’s detailed design handbook. The former isbased on Stockholm's vision and master plan, and describes the different types of bicycleroutes in the city along with the city´s objectives and goals for its bicycle planning. The actorwith the greatest influence on Stockholm ́ s bicycle planning is the city´s politicians, as theygovern and regulate the traffic department 's work. The department makes its ownprioritization in some cases, giving them some influence as well. Based on the surveying thatwas made, a map over Kungsholmen was created. The map can be useful in order to showpossible connections in the cycle network and encouraging inexperienced cyclists choosingthe bike.In order to further develop the map concept, the entirety of Stockholm should be mapped anddesigned. The map can be complemented by pathway markings and signage as it isimplemented further. Distribution of the map as well as digital solutions may be investigatedfurther.English title: From obstacle to opportunity: A study on factors affecting the attractiveness ofa bicycle network, and design of a user-friendly bicycle map over Kungsholmen, Stockholm.

Esta dissertação apresenta uma pesquisa e uma série de análises realizadas com a finalidade de entender melhor o uso das bicicletas próprias e compartilhadas em São Paulo, cidade em que a infraestrutura cicloviária e os sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas são recentes e ainda limitados. Através de análises descritivas e de modelos estatísticos, (1) foi realizada uma comparação das características dos usuários de bicicletas próprias com as dos usuários de bicicletas compartilhadas; (2) foi analisado o perfil dos ciclistas antes e depois da expansão da infraestrutura cicloviária e foram identificadas as diferenças comportamentais entre ciclistas recentes e experientes; (3) foram analisados os fatores associados à frequência do uso da bicicleta com motivo trabalho ou estudo e para demais finalidades e (4) foi analisada a escolha do uso da bicicleta compartilhada ou própria para uma determinada viagem. Os resultados indicam que a expansão da oferta de infraestrutura cicloviária parece estimular segmentos menos representativos da população, como mulheres e indivíduos de baixa renda, os quais não consideravam utilizar a bicicleta sem a existência de ciclovias. O tempo de viagem parece influenciar significativamente na frequência de uso de bicicleta, indicando que esse modo pode ser competitivo com os veículos motorizados em cidades grandes, densas e congestionadas. Também se observou que os sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas desempenham um papel fundamental nas viagens multimodais e na atração de novos ciclistas. Os resultados servem de subsídios para tomadores de decisão na definição de estratégias que visam incentivar o uso da bicicleta. Assim, o estudo pode auxiliar na elaboração de políticas públicas voltadas para a bicicleta; por exemplo, incentivo à expansão dos sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas ou melhorias e expansão da infraestrutura cicloviária nas cidades. / The current study presents a survey and a series of analyses performed in an effort to better understand the use of private and shared bicycles in Sao Paulo, a city where bicycle infrastructure and bicycle-sharing systems are recent and still limited. Using descriptive analysis and statistical models, we (1) compare the characteristics of private bicycle users and shared bicycle users; (2) analyze the profile of bicyclists before and after the expansion of dedicated infrastructure and identify behavioral differences between newcomers and experienced bicyclists; (3) analyze factors associated with frequencies of work and non-work bicycle trips, and (4) analyze the choice between using a private or a shared bicycle for a given trip. The results show that the expansion of bicycle infrastructure seems to stimulate underrepresented segments of the population, such as women and low-income individuals, to start cycling. Travel time seems to be an important predictor of bicycling frequency for both work and non-work purposes, suggesting that this mode can be very competitive with cars and transit in large, dense and congested cities. We also observe that shared bicycle systems play a fundamental role in multi-modal travel and in introducing new users to the bicycle mode. Results may subsidize policy making in defining strategies to stimulate the use of bicycles, such as introducing bike sharing systems and expanding and qualifying the cycling infrastructure.

Esta dissertação apresenta uma pesquisa e uma série de análises realizadas com a finalidade de entender melhor o uso das bicicletas próprias e compartilhadas em São Paulo, cidade em que a infraestrutura cicloviária e os sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas são recentes e ainda limitados. Através de análises descritivas e de modelos estatísticos, (1) foi realizada uma comparação das características dos usuários de bicicletas próprias com as dos usuários de bicicletas compartilhadas; (2) foi analisado o perfil dos ciclistas antes e depois da expansão da infraestrutura cicloviária e foram identificadas as diferenças comportamentais entre ciclistas recentes e experientes; (3) foram analisados os fatores associados à frequência do uso da bicicleta com motivo trabalho ou estudo e para demais finalidades e (4) foi analisada a escolha do uso da bicicleta compartilhada ou própria para uma determinada viagem. Os resultados indicam que a expansão da oferta de infraestrutura cicloviária parece estimular segmentos menos representativos da população, como mulheres e indivíduos de baixa renda, os quais não consideravam utilizar a bicicleta sem a existência de ciclovias. O tempo de viagem parece influenciar significativamente na frequência de uso de bicicleta, indicando que esse modo pode ser competitivo com os veículos motorizados em cidades grandes, densas e congestionadas. Também se observou que os sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas desempenham um papel fundamental nas viagens multimodais e na atração de novos ciclistas. Os resultados servem de subsídios para tomadores de decisão na definição de estratégias que visam incentivar o uso da bicicleta. Assim, o estudo pode auxiliar na elaboração de políticas públicas voltadas para a bicicleta; por exemplo, incentivo à expansão dos sistemas de bicicletas compartilhadas ou melhorias e expansão da infraestrutura cicloviária nas cidades. / The current study presents a survey and a series of analyses performed in an effort to better understand the use of private and shared bicycles in Sao Paulo, a city where bicycle infrastructure and bicycle-sharing systems are recent and still limited. Using descriptive analysis and statistical models, we (1) compare the characteristics of private bicycle users and shared bicycle users; (2) analyze the profile of bicyclists before and after the expansion of dedicated infrastructure and identify behavioral differences between newcomers and experienced bicyclists; (3) analyze factors associated with frequencies of work and non-work bicycle trips, and (4) analyze the choice between using a private or a shared bicycle for a given trip. The results show that the expansion of bicycle infrastructure seems to stimulate underrepresented segments of the population, such as women and low-income individuals, to start cycling. Travel time seems to be an important predictor of bicycling frequency for both work and non-work purposes, suggesting that this mode can be very competitive with cars and transit in large, dense and congested cities. We also observe that shared bicycle systems play a fundamental role in multi-modal travel and in introducing new users to the bicycle mode. Results may subsidize policy making in defining strategies to stimulate the use of bicycles, such as introducing bike sharing systems and expanding and qualifying the cycling infrastructure.

The use of bicycle as a transportation mode has increased in popularity during the last four decades. The reasons that could explain why the use of bicycles have increased in popularity are many. Nevertheless, three possible reasons for the increasing in popularity are because of the benefit in terms of health, reduced motorised traffic congestion, and air pollution. As bicycle traffic flows increase, the evaluating of the bicycle traffic infrastructure will become more important for bicyclist safety, and comfort. One possible evaluating tool for bicycle traffic is microscopic traffic simulation and one key component is the free-riding. The free-riding is a bicyclist that is not interacting with other bicyclist, and other road users during a ride. Furthermore, to develop a suitable simulation model of the free-riding needs data and a possible methodology for data collection on the free-riding is using instrumented bicycles. Therefore, this thesis will investigate a methodology that can be used to collect, process, and analyse data for two bicyclist and their interactions with the infrastructure. The methodology for data collection using instrumented bicycle includes a pre-defined travel route, two types of bicycles as a conventional, and an electric bicycle. Additionally, the equipment is used in the methodology should be easy to switch between bicycles to keep the behaviour as natural as possible for bicyclists. Nevertheless, the equipment is easy to switch between bicycles, if only a few tools is needed to switch between bicycles in the methodology. Moreover, data collection using instrument bicycle includes an interview survey on each participating bicyclist, and investigate weather conditions, and effort experience during the data collection on each participating bicyclist. Results indicate that negative acceleration i.e., deceleration, at intersections, curves, uphill when a conventional bicycle is used. Meanwhile, it is also negative acceleration i.e., deceleration at downhills when an electric bicycle is used. Furthermore, the use of electric bicycle leads to higher travel speed and lower power output usage on average than when a conventional bicycle is used as expected. Moreover, at downhills the speed can still increase even though the power output usage is zero, according to the analysis of free-riding behaviour. In addition, data collection using instrumented bicycle collects other measurement of the effort for the bicyclist such as the heart rate, and cadence. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

Bicycling as an alternate mode of transportation has been on the rise. It is environmentally friendly in nature and the associated health benefits have made it a popular choice for many types of trips. The purpose of this research is to increase understanding of the impacts of implementing bicycle corridors (as part of the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) Inclusion of Active Transportation policy) on bicycle rate as a function of roadway characteristics. The results of this research will be used in determining when and where bicycle corridors will enhance the transportation system and an estimate of the overall impact of bicycle corridors on travel demand in Utah. Data collection was fundamental in this research project in determining the impacts of bicycle corridors on travel demands in the state of Utah. With limited amount of commuting bicycle data available throughout the state, it was necessary to gather bicycle volume data on corridors with and without bicycle infrastructure. In order to accomplish this data collection effort, two primary methods were used to collect bicycle volume data. The first method was to use automatic bicycle counters on roadways that had bicycle infrastructure. The second method was to gather bicycle volume data through manual counts on roads with and without bicycle infrastructure. After the bicycle volume data were collected the data were analyzed to identify trends. The first step in the analysis was to convert the bicycle volumes into rates to provide a more uniform comparison. Several analyses were run including an analysis of bicycle rate compared to Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), bicycle rate compared to posted speed limit, bicycle rate compared to number of vehicle lanes, and bicycle rate compared to roadway classification. A comparison of sites with bicycle infrastructure to sites without bicycle infrastructure (non-bicycle infrastructure) was also conducted to identify relationships. Comparison of bicycle rates to AADT resulted in no correlation or statistical relationship in the data but the data do suggest trends. Statistically significant results did occur when comparing bicycle rates to posted speed limits. No statistically significant relationships occurred when comparing bicycle rates to the number of lanes or roadway classification. It was determined that roadways with bicycle infrastructure tend to yield higher bicycle rates than roadways that do not have bicycle infrastructure. Lastly, using shared use path data it is determined that bicycle rates on shared use paths have increased between 1.7 to 7.5 percent from 2013 to 2014 and it is assumed that a similar trend would exist on bicycle infrastructure in the communities.

In September 2014, a new regulation was proposed in Sweden, which indicates aset of rules of giving way under different types of bicycle intersections. Meanwhile,new definitions were endued to bicycle passages and bicycle crossings. After thepriority of cyclists is guaranteed at bicycle crossings, potential delay for motorvehicles in the mainstream should not be ignored as well.Therefore, inspired by the previous study from Movea, this thesis project is goingto focus on unsupervised bicycle passages and bicycle crossings, with the aim ofassessing and inspecting the impacts of different bicycle intersections on vehicledelays.The relationship between delay and flows at bicycle intersections has beenresearched in detail. Initially, an empirical study has been carried out on the basisof data from field measurements. In addition, a microscopic traffic simulationmodel has been constructed for the analysis of theoretical situations. The delay isproved to have a linear relationship with vehicle flow and bicycle flow. However,the linear relationship based on field data turns out to be different from the onefrom simulation output.

Although bicycling has been the subject of increasing academic attention, particularly in the areas of mode choice, benefit analyses, and discussions of policies/treatments, much less attention has been devoted to actually studying how communities have made decisions about whether and what they’ll implement in regards to bicycle infrastructure. “Policy entrepreneurs” are theorized as actors centrally responsible for either creating an opportunity or capitalizing on an opportunity to pair a public problem with a policy solution. A survey instrument solicited directly the participation of the 200 most populous municipalities within the United States. Using a variety of analytical tools (and merged data sources) as well as a novel matching methodology for the selection of case studies, it was possible to identify interesting and broadly informative relationships, which were explored further via the case study comparison. 20 case interviews were conducted across 6 case study cities as a complement to the survey project. Individual policy entrepreneurs and their role or qualities were not significant quantitatively or qualitatively, despite being regularly present. However, having a network of supportive actors (including strong champions/policy entrepreneurs) played a critical role in making projects happen and at larger scales. Advocates and planners may be more successful by being attuned to these networks and political contexts and taking advantage of open “windows” of engagement. Alternatively, these windows can be opened ‘manually’ through grant applications, developing relationships, hosting trainings or speakers, and more. Lastly, city population was also associated with implementation, suggesting underlying factors to be explored in the future.