Bicycling

Neighborhood Sociodemographics and Change in Built Infrastructure

Hirsch, JA
Green, GF
Peterson, M
Rodriguez, DA
Gordon-Larsen, P
2016

While increasing evidence suggests an association between physical infrastructure in neighborhoods and health outcomes, relatively little research examines how neighborhoods change physically over time and how these physical improvements are spatially distributed across populations. This paper describes the change over 25 years (1985–2010) in bicycle lanes, off-road trails, bus transit service and parks, and spatial clusters of changes in these domains relative to neighborhood sociodemographics in four US cities that are diverse in terms of geography, size, and population. Across all...

The Relationship Between Bicycle Commuting and Perceived Stress: A Cross-sectional Study

Avila-Palencia, I
Nazelle, A De
Cole-Hunter, T
Donaire-Gonzalez, D
Jarrett, M
Rodriguez, D
Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ
2017

Active commuting — walking and bicycling for travel to and/or from work or educational addresses — may facilitate daily, routine physical activity. Several studies have investigated the relationship between active commuting and commuting stress; however, there are no studies examining the relationship between solely bicycle commuting and perceived stress, or studies that account for environmental determinants of bicycle commuting and stress. The current study evaluated the relationship between bicycle commuting, among working or studying adults in a dense urban setting, and perceived...

Municipal Investment in Off-Road Trails and Changes in Bicycle Commuting in Minneapolis, Minnesota over 10 years: A Longitudinal Repeated Cross-sectional Study

Hirsch, JA
Meyer
Peterson, M
Zhang, L
Rodriguez, DA
Gordon-Larsen, P
2017

We studied the effect of key development and expansion of an off-road multipurpose trail system in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 2000 and 2007 to understand whether infrastructure investments are associated with increases in commuting by bicycle. We used repeated measures regression on tract-level (N = 116 tracts) data to examine changes in bicycle commuting between 2000 and 2008–2012. We investigated: 1) trail proximity measured as distance from the trail system and 2) trail potential use measured as the proportion of commuting trips to destinations that might traverse the trail system....

Social (In) Equity in Access to Cycling Infrastructure: Cross-sectional associations Between Bike Lanes and Area-Level Sociodemographic Characteristics in 22 large US cities

Braun, L
Rodriguez, D
Gordon-Larsen, P
2018
Cycling advocates have recently argued that low-income and minority communities across the U.S. have disproportionately low access to bike lanes. To date, however, quantitative evidence of disparities in access to bike lanes is limited to a small number of cities. We address this research gap by examining cross-sectional associations between bike lanes and...

Adult Bicycle Education Classes Increase Confidence, Feelings of Safety, and Knowledge of Bicycling Rules

Nachman, Elizabeth R., MCP
Rodríguez, Daniel A., PhD
2019

Adult bicycle education classes are becoming an increasingly popular strategy to improve safety, mitigate congestion, and reach environmental goals. However, there is limited empirical research on the effectiveness of these classes among adults, and there are no studies evaluating the impacts of classroom-based education on this population. To address this gap in knowledge, a study was conducted evaluating the effectiveness of classroom-based adult bicycle education on delivering changes related to bicycling activity, self-perceptions while bicycling, knowledge of the bicycling rules of...

Research on the Effects of Bicycle Education is Limited but Does Point to Higher Rates of Bicycling and Increased Safety

Nachman, Elizabeth R., MCP
Rodríguez, Daniel A., PhD
2019

Increasing the number of people bicycling is often proposed as a solution for addressing environmental and climate-related challenges. Strategies to support more bicycling have traditionally included building bicycle infrastructure, enforcing traffic laws, and educating people about bicycling. Additionally, many cities across California are pursuing Vision Zero, the goal to eliminate traffic death and serious injury in the next decade. In San Francisco, for example, Vision Zero strategies include creating safe streets, safe people and safe vehicles. It also seeks to include training on “...

Evaluating Alternative Measures of Bicycling Level of Traffic Stress Using Crowdsourced Route Satisfaction Data

Harvey, C
Fang, K
Rodriguez, D
2019

Approaches for evaluating the quality of bicycling have become increasingly important for planning bicycle infrastructure improvements. Mekuria, Furth, and Nixon’s (2012) “Level of Traffic Stress” (LTS) approach, which requires minimal data inputs and produces a simple and intuitive output, has emerged as a widely-used framework for identifying streets that are “low-stress” for cyclists. The LTS framework is based on a hierarchy of characteristics, largely related to traffic speed and roadway layout, that are presumed to cause higher or lower levels of stress. Despite the apparent...

Social (In) Equity in Access to Cycling Infrastructure: Examining the Distribution of Bike Lanes with Respect to Area-Level Sociodemographic Characteristics in 23 Large US Cities

Braun, L
Rodriguez, D
Gordon-Larsen, P
2019

Cycling advocates have recently argued that low-income and minority communities across the U.S. have disproportionately low access to bike lanes. To date, however, quantitative evidence of disparities in access to bike lanes has been limited to a small number of cities. We addressed this research gap by examining cross-sectional associations between bike lanes and sociodemographic characteristics at the block group level for 22 large U.S. cities (n = 21,843 block groups). Dependent variables included the presence (yes/no), coverage, connectivity, and proximity...

A Systematic Review of Empirical and Simulation Studies Evaluating the Health Impact of Transportation Interventions

Stankov, I
Garcia, LMT
Mascolli, M
Montes, F
Meisel, JD
Gouveia, N
Sarmiento, O
Rodriguez, D
Hammond, R
Caiaffa, WT
Roux, AV Diez
2020
Urban transportation is an important determinant of health and environmental outcomes, and therefore essential to achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. To better understand the health impacts of transportation initiatives, we conducted a systematic review of longitudinal health evaluations involving: a) bus rapid transit (BRT); b) bicycle lanes; c) Open Streets programs; and d) aerial trams/cable cars. We also synthesized systems-based simulation studies of the health-related consequences of walking, bicycling, aerial tram, bus and BRT use. Two reviewers screened 3302...

Assessing Public Health Benefits of Replacing Freight Trucks with Cargo Cycles in Last Leg Delivery Trips in Urban Centers

Hartle, J
Elrahman, O
Wang, C
Rodriguez, D
Ding, Y
McGahan, M
2022

Increased urbanization, population growth, and demand for time-sensitive deliveries means increased freight movement in cities, which contributes to emissions, noise, and safety concerns. One innovative mode gaining widespread attention for urban deliveries is cargo cycles—bicycles adapted for freight delivery. Despite the recognized potential and possible success of transporting at least 25% of freight via cycle, research remains limited. This research investigates the potential of cargo cycle delivery for last mile freight in Oakland, California, with a focus on the West Oakland...