Low-Stress Bicyling and Bike Network Connectivity

The video begins at 2:06.

Abstract: The most fundamental need in a bicycling network is low-stress connectivity, that is, providing routes between people’s origins and destinations that do not require cyclists to use links that exceed their tolerance for traffic stress, and that do not involve an undue level of detour. Evaluating network connectivity therefore requires both a set of criteria for tolerable levels of traffic stress and measures of connectivity appropriate to a bikeway network. 

We propose criteria by which road segments can be classified into four levels of traffic stress (LTS), corresponding to four levels of traffic tolerance in the population. LTS 1 is suitable for children; LTS 2, based on Dutch bikeway design criteria, represents the traffic stress that most adults will tolerate; LTS 3 and 4 represent greater levels of stress. As a case study, every street in San Jose, California was classified by LTS. Maps in which only lower stress links are displayed reveal a city fractured into low-stress islands separated from one another by barriers that can only be crossed using high stress links. 

To measure connectivity, two points in the network are said to be connected at a given level of traffic stress if there is a path connecting them that uses only links that do not exceed that level of stress and whose length does not exceed a detour criterion (25% longer than the most direct...

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European Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning (Scan Tour Report)

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Is It Working? Are the Region's and City's Transportation Policies and Actions Moving Us in Their Desired Directions?

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The City of Portland and the Metropolitan Region have strong policies in place to encourage transportation through means other than the single-occupancy vehicle. Both governments have numeric goals for the proportion of trips to be made by walking, bicycling, transit, shared vehicles, working at home and driving alone. Indeed, the City of Portland desires that by 2035 no more than thirty percent of commute trips be made by people driving alone. Similar policies have driven transportation planning in the city and region for decades.

To understand if these policies will be effective it's necessary to understand whether their antecedents have been effective. The Portland region has been investing in transit, bicycling and walking for more than two decades? Are we moving the needle? Have we been effective?

Roger's presentation will take a look at regional data for the period 2000-2014 to assess the effectiveness of our efforts and use that information to suggest pathways forward.

Roger Geller has been Portland, Oregon’s bicycle coordinator since 2000...

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Bicycling in Davis, CA : A Critical Look at Policy and Behavior in the First Platinum Bicycle City in the U.S.

The video begins at 3:15.

In 2005, Davis, California was the first city in the U.S. to be named a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Although Davis has long been held up as a model bicycling community, where residents bike as a normal part of their daily lives, it has not been rigorously studied. Several studies underway at UC Davis are helping to fill this gap: an analysis of the history of bicycling policy in Davis; a behavioral study of factors contributing to high levels of bicycling in Davis in comparison; and an evaluation of a recent campaign to get kids to bicycle to soccer games. This presentation offers highlights from a three studies to provide a critical assessment of Davis as a bicycling community.

Susan Handy is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy and the director of the Sustainable Transportation Center at the University of California Davis. Her research focuses on the connections between land use and transportation, and she is well known for her work on the impact of neighborhood design on travel behavior. She serves on three committees of the Transportation Research Board and on the editorial boards of several journals in the fields of planning, transportation, and public health.

Decades after its highway became a park, Portland tests another boost to public space

GIS Tools for Bicycle Network Analysis and Planning

The video begins at 0:39.

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Summary: This presentation is a showcase of various GIS tools developed for bicycle network analysis and planning. The showcase includes a tool for assessing community-wide bikeability, a tool for forecasting bicycle volumes based on street topology, and a tool for evaluating different bicycle improvement plans in terms of exposure to danger situations for bicyclists. The tools will be demonstrated with case study data. The presentation will include a review of the Highway Capacity Manual Bicycle Level of Service and a discussion about using bicycle and pedestrian data collected through citizen-volunteer count programs.

Bio: Dr. Michael Lowry holds a joint appointment in Civil Engineering and Bioregional Planning at the University of Idaho. He is an affiliate researcher for the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology. His research focuses on capital investment decision-making and transportation planning for bicyclists and pedestrians. Dr. Lowry teaches courses related to sustainable transportation, engineering statistics, and economic analysis. He received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington and BS and MS from Brigham Young University.

Bikes, Bodies, and Public Space: The Role of Human Infrastructure in Urban Transport

The video begins at 0:23.

Abstract: The bike movement in the United States tends to support infrastructural changes to streets. Reshaping the built environment is expected to stimulate behavior changes in road users. At the same time, this approach may overlook the transportation cultures of existing urban communities and raise concerns about displacement and gentrification. Based on ethnographic research and advocacy experiments in Los Angeles, Lugo proposes the concept of "human infrastructure" to describe the ways that social relationships impact how people experience the built environment. By taking both physical and human infrastructure into account, transportation planners and advocates can make social justice a key part of sustainability.

Initial Assessment of Portland's Green Bike Boxes

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The video begins at 3:10.

Protected intersections are about to get a big shot of science

Factors Affecting Bicycling Demand: Initial Survey Findings from Portland Region

The video begins at 2:05.

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