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I want to ride it where I like: measuring design preferences in cycling infrastructure

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Abstract

Sidewalk cyclists are a major concern to planners in many cities around the world: they are considerable in numbers, and increase the risk of injury not only to pedestrians but also to themselves. Considering this, planners need evidence to design streets that nudge users into a more desirable behavior from a social perspective. This study analyzes a stated preferences survey that investigates commuters’ preferences for cycling at the sidewalk or street level. With this data, three models were calibrated: two Binomial Logit Models and an Integrated Choice and Latent Class Model. The three showed similar results in terms of preferences, with the ones including users’ characteristics providing richer behavioral insight and a better fit to observed results. On average, respondents prefer infrastructure located at the road level, especially if it is wide and not built next to bus routes. This preference for the road is even stronger in commuters that cycle to work often. We also conclude that building at the sidewalk level is not recommendable, especially in dense urban areas, and that design of cycling infrastructure can and should be informed by quantitative methods like the one proposed here.

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Acknowledgements

A preliminary version of this work was presented at the 14th World Conference on Transport Research, held at Shanghai, China, during July 2016. The authors would like to acknowledge the advice given by Patricia Galilea, Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Pedro Donoso, Professor at Universidad de Chile. The research presented in this article was partly financed by FONDECYT (Project Number 11130637). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the research support provided by the Centre for Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS CONICYT/FONDAP 15110020), the Complex Engineering Systems Institute (ICM: P-05-004-F, CONICYT: FBO16) and the Bus Rapid Transit (ALC-BRT) Centre of Excellence funded by the Volvo Research and Educational Foundation (VREF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ingeniería de Transporte y Logística, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Tomás Rossetti & Ricardo Hurtubia

  2. The Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London, London, UK

    Verónica Saud

  3. Escuela de Arquitectura, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Ricardo Hurtubia

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  1. Tomás Rossetti
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  2. Verónica Saud
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  3. Ricardo Hurtubia
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TR: Model estimation, manuscript writing. VS: Data collection. RH: Project creation and coordination, model estimation, manuscript writing.

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Correspondence to Tomás Rossetti.

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Rossetti, T., Saud, V. & Hurtubia, R. I want to ride it where I like: measuring design preferences in cycling infrastructure. Transportation 46, 697–718 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-017-9830-y

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