Aalborg Universitet Bike Infrastructures Report Silva, Victor ... - VBN

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INDRODUCTION As part of work package 4 a web questionnaire was carried out amongst the Danish Municipalities as these are a vital actor in the implementation of bike infrastructure projects. The aim of the survey was to describe infrastructural “Bikeability” projects and the municipal level in terms of both activity level, the nature of the projects and the motives behind the implementation of bike-projects. Furthermore, the municipalities were asked to evaluate the bike promoting and the safety potentials related to given types of bicycle projects. In terms of estimating the Bikeabilityeffects of investments in bicycle infrastructure a main aim of the questionnaire was to map the extent to which the municipalities have done before/after registrations in relation to implemented bike-infrastructure projects as these are required in order to perform such evaluations. The findings from the national web questionnaire amongst the municipalities are reported below Background At the moment large investments are made in bicycle infrastructure at the municipal level. The higher investment level is primarily initiated by the “Cycling Fund” (Danish: Cykelpuljen), which is administered from the state level by the Danish Road Directorate. Through the Danish Cycling Fund it is possible for the municipalities to obtain financial support from the Danish State, when it comes to financing bike promoting projects; the level of financial support from the state level may be as high as 50%. According to the Danish act on Green Transport Policy – passed by the Danish parliament – the goal of the Cycling Fund is to support projects specifically and actively aiming at improving the conditions for cycling (Transportministeriet, 2009). Over a period of 5 years 1 billion Danish Kroner will allocated Bike-promoting projects through the Cycling Funds with the expectation that the project partners will contribute with at least a corresponding investment. Alongside the passing of the Cycling Fund, the Strategic Research Council decided to offer substantial financial support to the research project: ”Bikeability: Cities for zero emission travel and public health”, which focuses on producing scientifically based knowledge as to how socio-economics, geography, road environment and investments in bicycle infrastructures affects the use of the bike in daily transport. Knowledge of this kind is vital to the Danish municipalities in order for them to identify ways of increasing the use of the bicycle in daily transport. More specifically knowledge and documentation on the effects of different kinds of bike-promoting projects are in demand in order to provide tools that enables the municipalities to systematically prioritize the projects relevant to them. Purpose As part of the Bikeability project it was decided to perform a questionnaire amongst the Danish Municipalities. The main purposes of this questionnaire can be described as follows: • To describe the bicycle initiatives implemented at the municipal level in Denmark in the period 1/1 2007 until the summer 2011 with special focus upon the formulation of goals and plans for improving cycling, investment level and the nature and the character of the implemented projects. • To map the primary motives amongst the municipalities when it comes to the background for implementing bikepromoting/bike-friendly projects. • To get the municipalities assessment of given assumed bike-promoting/bike-friendly projects potential for actually promoting the use of the bike and the projects potential for actually improving bicycle safety respectively. • To map the extent to which the municipalities perform before-after registrations in relation to local bicycle-projects which allows for evaluations of the effects of the project in terms of bicycle use and traffic safety. The main reasons as why to conduct a municipal survey is reflected in the purpose of the questionnaire. Primarily, the questionnaire is performed in order to ensure that the research activities are in accordance with the goals, knowledge, initiatives and ideas at the municipal level, as it is a general priority for the Bikeability project as a whole that the research results are relevant and applicable to the central parties involved in increasing Bikeability at all levels. Hence the importance of mapping goals, motives and the implemented type of projects as well as the mapping of potentials, as the latter may serve as an indicator in terms of the projects that the municipalities may be inclined to implement in the future. Secondly, the mapping of municipal projects with before/ after registrations serves to document the extent to which it is possible to perform classic before/after evaluations of bicycle effects (use of bike; safety of cyclists). Methodology In preparing the questionnaire for the municipalities it was decided to apply a standardized and structured design applying a uniform formulation of questions and well-defined answering categories. This design holds the advantage that it is possible to compare the answers from the municipalities and it allows for statistical analysis to be applied to the comparison of answers. The downside to the design is that it leaves the respondents with rather limited possibilities when it comes to motivate, elaborate and introduce light and shade on their answers. Furthermore, it was decided to perform the questionnaire as a web-based questionnaire. The primary reason as why to apply this technique was that the questionnaire has a conditional answering structure, in the sense that the relevance of some of the later questions relies on the answers to earlier questions. By opting for a web-based questionnaire, it is possible to apply a dynamic design structure to the questionnaire, which makes it possible to skip questions irrelevant to the respondent (Madsen og Lahrmann, 2002). In this case the application of the web-based design proved to have the weakness that it was hard for some of the municipalities to gain a full overview of the questionnaire, which proved to be a problem to them in terms for them to able to identify the person best suited for answering specific questions included in the questionnaire. In order to ensure good quality answers to the questionnaire, it was decided to direct the questionnaire to the person(s) responsible for the cycling planning, activities and projects in each of the 98 Danish municipalities. These persons were identified by consulting Bicycle networks, the participation lists from the annual Danish Bike Conference and by studying bicycle related planning documents from the municipalities. For these persons email addresses were retrieved and stored in a database. Accordingly, a personal email containing a link to the questionnaire was sent to each of the contact persons. The questionnaire was conducted in the summer 2011 (June, July and August). Participation From the 98 Danish Municipalities, approximately 70 municipalities responded. 20 municipalities replied that they did not have the resources needed to fill out the questionnaire. 50 municipalities activated the web questionnaire and 41 municipalities completed the questionnaire. This amounts to an answering rate of 42%. Smaller as well as larger municipalities have completed the questionnaire. The answer rate is highest for the Southern Region of Denmark (68%). However, the questionnaire is dominated by the larger urban municipalities. 9 out of the 10 municipalities with the highest number of inhabitants have completed the questionnaire. In general there is also a high answering rate amongst the Capital area Municipalities. The fact that questionnaire is dominated by the larger urban municipalities is likely to reflect that the questionnaire has appealed especially to urban municipalities with an outspoken tradition for focussing upon bicycle transportation. This represents a bias in the results from the survey; they are not likely to reflect the general “Danish Picture” on all aspects, as the results indicate variations in the answers obtained from the larger urban municipalities on the one hand side and the “rural” municipalities on the other hand side. Another contributing reason as to why the larger urban municipalities are overrepresented may be that they to a larger extent have the resources to participate in this kind of survey. Goals, initiatives and motives Bicycle traffic is in general highly ranked on the agenda amongst the municipalities, who have completed the questionnaire. 75% municipalities state that the have specific goals on enhancing the use of the bike amongst the inhabitants, while 83% state that they have improved conditions for the cyclists as a specific municipal goal. In terms of planning and prioritizing tools one out three of the participating municipalities have made a specific cycling action plan in order to promote the use of bike. Furthermore 20% of the municipalities are in the process of making a cycling action plan. These plans typically contains a goal for promoting cycling and a description of applied strategies and concrete initiatives that the municipalities are planning to implement in order to fulfil the formulated goals, e.g. campaigns, education, investments in bike infrastructure.
Furthermore, 85% of the municipalities have made or are in the process of making plans for the provision of pedestrian and bicycle friendly infrastructure (footpaths, walkways, bicycle lanes, bicycle tracks, traffic calmed routes etc.). Both the formulation of goals and the rather high level of cycling related plans indicate that cycling is a focus area amongst the participating municipalities. This also shows in the fact that 88% of the participating municipalities within the last five years (2007-2011) have implemented initiatives aiming at improving the conditions for the cyclists. 83% of the municipalities have indicated that they have implemented projects specifically aiming at increasing the use of the bike amongst the inhabitants. Approximately 25% of the municipalities have invested more than 10 million DKK in cycling projects and initiatives from 2007 till 2011, including bicycle tracks, bicycle lanes, bicycle parking, cycling plans, developing cycling action plans etc. Only 14% of the participating municipalities have invested less than 1 million DKK in cycling projects and initiatives. The majority of the invested funds have in fact been spent on actual bicycle infrastructure. More than half of the municipalities state that at least 80% of the invested funds has been invested in bicycle tracks, bicycle lanes, bicycle parking and at intersections, the latter with the focus on increasing cyclists safety. More specifically the municipal activities have mainly been focussed upon expanding the bicycle infrastructure. In that context the municipalities have prioritized the implementation of actual bicycle tracks to the implementation of the cheaper solutions; bicycle lanes and the appointing of bicycle routes along local roads, the latter not including significant changes to the existing infrastructure. In the Copenhagen Area focus has also been on the implementation of cycling commuter routes, which includes significant improvements to the bicycle infrastructure, including establishing separate bicycle tracks and out-of-level crossing of larger roads, thus ensuring fast connectivity between the suburbs and the capitol area of Copenhagen. 57% of the municipalities answer that they have not or only to a limited extent have applied solutions such as; speed reduction of cycling routes even though this measure will reduce accident risks and make the cyclist feel safer in traffic (Greibe et al., 2000). One third of the participating municipalities are though, to a large extent, working actively with speed management. Most of the municipalities are focussed upon improving the conditions for the cyclists at intersections, with most of them focussing upon safety issues rather than improving the cyclist flow at the intersections. Improving the possibilities of combining the use of bike and public transport by improving the transfer between the two modes of transport, has only been implemented by a minority of the municipalities and only to a limited extent in the municipalities where this measure has been implemented. In general there is a large variation in the extent to which the municipalities have invested en better parking facilities. This initiative has mainly been implemented by the larger urban municipalities. Improved bathing and changing facilities at work places has been seen as a possible way of increasing the use of the bike when commuting. However, this initiative has by and large not been implemented by the municipalities in Denmark. In recent year there has been a specific focus upon the transport behaviour amongst children. It has been a growing concern that more and more children are driven by car to school by their parents rather than walking and cycling themselves. The concern is that this will have a negative impact on their travel behaviour as adults as they may grow increasingly in favour of travelling by car than by cycle in their adult life. Steps have been taken in order to get more school children to travel by bike, predominantly by investing in safer school routes. This is also reflected in the questionnaire as 80% of the municipalities to some extent have invested in safer school routes, e.g. by implementing bicycle tracks, employing traffic calming schemes, pedestrian crossings etc.). Summing up on the characteristics of the implemented projects and initiatives, it can be concluded that the municipalities generally prefers to invest in bicycle tracks, although this solution is relatively expensive. The questionnaire does not shed light upon why this is the case. However, it is likely that the preference towards bicycle tracks is due to the fact that it holds a highly symbolic value, “we encourage cycling”, it is perceived as a good solution in terms of both connectivity and safety and there is documentation that the construction of bicycle tracks increase the level of cycling (Jensen, 2006). Finally, and equally important, bicycle tracks is a solution often in demand amongst the cyclists. Motives When it comes for the municipalities motives for investing in bicycle projects and initiatives the primary driving force is actually to reduce the accident risks amongst the cyclists as well as to improve cyclist security; the latter expressing the notion of traffic safety/accident risk amongst cyclists. As opposed to accident risk, which is the objective measure of traffic safety, security expresses the subjective measure of traffic safety. Focussing upon the level of security is relevant in the sense that if people feel safer, they are more likely to use the bike, in which case the traffic safety issue becomes relevant in terms of increasing the use of the bike. Other dominant motives for the municipalities to invest in bicycle transport is a desire to enhance public health and to improve connectivity, and thereby the mobility of the cyclists. The latter may also prompt more car-users to opt for the bike at the expense of the bike in the future. However, in comparison, the desire to move bike-users to the car in order to reduce environmental strains as well as congestion problems is to a lesser extent stated as a specific motivation by the municipalities. However, in regards to having environmental strains and congestion problems as motivators for wanting to transfer car trips into bicycle trips there is a large variation between the municipalities. The larger urban municipalities especially states environmental concerns and congestion problems as a primary motivator, whereas the rural municipalities does it to a lesser extent. In comparison the safety and security issue is stated as a primary motivation by both urban and rural municipalities. The reason as to why this is the case is likely to boil down to the fact that the problems in relation to congestion and the environmental strains are evident in the urban municipalities, whereas the safety issue is a general concern and problem no matter the size of the municipality. Potentials for increasing the use of the bike When it comes to increasing the use of the bike in daily transport, the municipalities state that the largest potential is related to projects that aim at improving the safety and security level along the school routes. This reflects the assumption that if the school routes are perceived as safe by the parents, the more likely it is that they will allow their kinds to go to school by bike. Given that increased use of bike as a child and youngster will led to a higher use of the bike as an adult the rationale holds. Besides improving the routes to and from school the municipalities in general point to improvements of the bicycle infrastructure as the most promising way of enhancing the use of bike. The largest potential for promoting the use of the bike is in the eyes of the municipalities attached to the construction of bicycle tracks. As bicycle tracks are perceived as a secure solution this indicates that projects that seeks to improve both the perception of safety as well as the level of connectivity are seen as promising projects by the municipalities. In assessing the potential for increasing the use of bike in general it seems as if the perceived potentials seem to fade with the visibility and clarity of the project. Project that clearly signals improvements of connectivity and safety/security are deemed to hold a larger potential than those with a lesser explicit focus on the cyclists. Specifically, general speed management at the municipal level and speed reduction schemes along cycling routes are deemed to hold a lesser potential than the provision of cyclist specific infrastructure such as bicycle tracks and bicycle lanes. The latter seems somewhat surprising in the sense that the car speed level has significant impact upon the perceived safety level amongst pedestrians and cyclists and furthermore it is well-documented that speed reductions significantly reduces both accident and injury risks amongst vulnerable road users, including cyclists (Madsen et al., 2008; Greibe et al., 2000). Based upon these facts, one could argue that reduced speed levels would enhance the use of the bike due to actually improved safety and security levels. Newer Danish research have documented a 10% increase in the number of cyclists – in a Copenhagen context – when new bicycle tracks are constructed in an urban environment (Jensen, 2006). In order to be able to prioritize between projects, it would be highly fruitful to set up evaluation studies aiming at documenting the effects of speed reductions on the use of the bike. Traditionally evaluations of speed reductions focus on the safety effects only. Potentials for improving traffic safety for cyclists When asked to assess the potential for improving traffic safety amongst cyclists the municipalities again primarily points to the construction of bicycle tracks. This is somewhat worrying as Danish research projects have shown that the construction of bicycle tracks does not significant-
Page 1 and 2: Aalborg Universitet Bike Infrastruc
Page 3 and 4: TITLE BIKE INFRASTRUCTURES EDITORS
Page 5 and 6: Introduction VICTOR ANDRADE
Page 7: SECTION ONE: DANISH NATIONAL SURVEY
Page 11 and 12: Tables/illustrations Indicated leve
Page 13 and 14: SECTION TWO: BIKE INFRASTRUCTURES V
Page 15 and 16: 1.0 INTRODUCTION Decisions on trans
Page 17 and 18: clists evaluate these design charac
Page 19 and 20: 3.0 CASES ODENSE SHARED SPACE VESTE
Page 21 and 22: BICYCLE NETWORK The majority of the
Page 23 and 24: BEFORE AND AFTER BEFORE Formerly, V
Page 25 and 26: PAVING MATERIAL DESIGN VELOCITIES T
Page 27 and 28: STREET FURNITURE Technical elements
Page 29 and 30: PUBLIC ART OR OTHER UNIQUE FEATURES
Page 31 and 32: THE WEB SURVEY The web survey analy
Page 33 and 34: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AGE AGE 40%
Page 35 and 36: AWARENESS OF PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORI
Page 37 and 38: TRANS. TO AND FROM WORK RECREA- TIO
Page 39 and 40: VERY BAD BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD
Page 41 and 42: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS AND OPINION ABOU
Page 43 and 44: VERY BAD BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD
Page 45 and 46: BICYCLE NETWORK Aarhus municipality
Page 47 and 48: DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS AND STREETSC
Page 49 and 50: PAVEMENT The sidewalk and bike path
Page 51 and 52: SIGNAGE Signage includes the counti
Page 53 and 54: ACCESSIBILITY To access the new bik
Page 55 and 56: THE WEB SURVEY The web survey analy
Page 57 and 58: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS SOCIO-DEMOGR
Page 59 and 60:
AWARENESS OF PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORI
Page 61 and 62:
TRANS. TO AND FROM WORK RECREA- TIO
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BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD TOTAL 01
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SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS AND OPINION ABOU
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BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD TOTAL PU
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To improve the overall air quality
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3.3.2 BRYGGEBRO In 2006, it was ina
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TECHNICAL DRAWINGS 189448 Figure 3.
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HIERARCHY OF USERS VELOCITIES The u
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SIGNAGE There is signage on both si
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CROSSINGS, INTERSECTIONS The main i
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On the Havneholmen side of the brid
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THE WEB SURVEY The web survey analy
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DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS AGE 35% AGE
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AWARENESS OF PEDESTRIANS FOR PEOPLE
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TRANS. TO AND FROM WORK RECREA- TIO
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VERY BAD BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD
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SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHICS AND OPINION ABOU
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VERY BAD BAD NEUTRAL GOOD VERY GOOD
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70% WALK ING WITHOUT BIK E SATISFAC
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5.0 CONCLUSION The decision to use
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http://www.odense.dk/web4/cyklister
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3.2 HANS BROGES GADE Figure 3.2.1:
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4.0 GENERAL COMPARISON Figure 4.1:
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Table 3.2.10: Distribution of the r
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Table 3.3.48: Distribution of the r
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SURVEY ACCESSED ON THE WEBSITE DO Y
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Better signposting Bike maps Mainte
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CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 DEVEL
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2 DEVELOPMENTS IN CYCLING IN THE NE
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3 The demonstration projects in Til
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3.2.2 The Hague The design Just as
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and to conclude whether the goals a
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• Coloured pavement to visually d
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• With regard to intersections wi
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In the late 1970s, the medium-sized
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The Reineveldbrug is part of the ma
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Noordwest Tanthof Wippolder 1982 19
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Tables 4.13 and 4.14 show the modal
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The outcomes of the route analyses
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The general conclusion is that the
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The Koepoortbrug functions mainly f
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5 Shared space in Haren Shared spac
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6 BICYCLE STREET IN HAARLEM A bicyc
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7 Interurban highway for cyclists 7
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Additionally, habitual behaviour ma
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SECTION FOUR: RECOMMENDATIONS
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BIKE INFRASTRUCTURES Edited by VICT
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