Performance Measures for Bicycle Suitability on the State Highway System

Caltrans is considering performance measures that can be used to evaluate the quality of the bicycling experience on the state highway system. The purpose of this research is to recommend the best methodology to use in California as a quantitative measurement for how well the roads support bicycling. We identified two widely used performance measures, Highway Capacity Manual bicycle level of service and level of traffic stress, for evaluation, and developed time cost estimates for applying the measures to the state highway system. In addition, we performed a pilot study to test a proof of concept for a customized California-specific performance measure, incorporating the superior elements of established measures, accounting for the variety of features present on California roads, and taking advantage of existing data sources. We used a latent class choice model based on a bicyclist user experience survey to show the different facility preferences for different types of riders. Due to the limited validity of using existing performance measures for the California state highway system, we recommend further development of a California-specific performance measure.