Evaluation of Cycling Behavior: Factors that Influence Bicyclists’ Comprehension, Comfort, and Stress

Travel demand has increased due to population growth, increase of vehicle ownership, and development patterns resulting in greater levels of congestion, pollution, and crash frequency. One approach to demand management is to increase the share of trips made by bicycles. With the increase in bicycling rates, there is a critical need for additional cycling infrastructure, which includes on and off-road bicycle lanes and paths, signs, markings, and signals. However, many of these infrastructure systems are implemented without detailed knowledge of bicyclist’s behavior and comfort while interacting with them. Therefore, if we understand factors that influence bicyclist’s behaviors and comfort on the roadway, planners and engineers will be better suited in implementing both bicycle technology and infrastructure. This study approached this challenge by evaluating a) bicyclist’s comprehension and preference to traffic control devices and b) bicyclist’s behavior and physiological responses to varying roadway conditions. Next, the research was interpreted for the purpose of improving practice within the transportation field. A survey questionnaire was used to evaluate bicyclists understanding and preferences of blue light detection feedback (BLDF) systems and bicycle signal countdown timers (BSCT). The results indicated that individuals understood and preferred the BLDF better with the additional novel signage that included text, symbols, and the blue dot. The study overwhelmingly showed that individuals “Strongly Agreed” that signage helped them understand the purpose of the BLDF, that they would support he implementation of the system, and that they felt better about waiting at an intersection with this system implemented. Individuals also generally understood the purpose of the BSCT, with the highest correct response from the numerical BSCT. Additionally, participants preferred the numerical BSCT, in comparison to the circular and vertical disappearing dot options. The Oregon State University (OSU) bicycle simulator was used in conjunction with a survey questionnaire to evaluate bicyclists’ galvanic skin response (GSR) responses, velocity, and lateral position to varying roadway conditions and bicycling infrastructure. The results showed that when individuals cycled within a bicycle lane, they had a GSR reading 1.25 peaks per min less than when cycling in a mixed traffic condition. In addition, when bicyclists rode in the bike lane, bicyclists GSR reading and velocity were not affected by variations in vehicular volume or speed. However, lateral position was affected by vehicular volume. When bicyclists were in mixed traffic conditions, the GSR reading was not affected by vehicle speed; however, it was affected by the vehicular volume. In mixed traffic conditions, none of the variables influenced bicyclist’s velocity. For the lateral position, only the vehicular volume had a significant affect. In summary, the recommendations from this work suggest a design for the BLDF system that will provide bicyclists with better understanding and comfortable at an intersection. Additionally, while preemption numerical countdown timers are not currently approved by MUTCD for vehicles or bicyclists, evidence suggests that a circular disappearing dots BSCT, was the preference of survey respondents. Based on the results of the simulator research, bicyclist’s stress response was not affected by the vehicular volume or the speed of vehicles while riding in a bicycle lane, which indicates bicyclists generally feel more comfortable while riding. Additionally, the vehicular speed did not play significant influence into bicyclists’ stress response or behavior; therefore, limiting the amount of traffic provided on the roadway can still make bicyclists feel less stress, even if a bike lane is not present. Therefore, recommendations for bicycle facilities should aim to provide striped bike lanes if possible or limit vehicular volumes on roadways where bicyclists operate in mixed traffic conditions

Effect of Complete Streets Infrastructure and Design on Street Life

Complete streets policies are spreading throughout the United States, and this thesis explores their provides greater understanding of how complete streets style designs impact street life. Research for the thesis includes observations of street life at four locations with complete streets designs as well as interviews with residents, community advocates, municipal planners, and other project stakeholders. Observational research provides examples of how people interact in a complete streets environment, compared with control sites within the same neighborhood. This thesis found that complete streets style infrastructure effects street life through improved street safety, creating a welcoming environment and sense of place, and through economic development. The study of four street redesigns and interviews with project designers reveal implementation patterns and which parts of the street redesign were most effective in achieving their goals. The thesis concludes with a critique of complete streets design and implementation, yet proposes that they should be created where possible due to their positive impacts on safety for the most vulnerable street users

LED Traffic Signal Retrofits: Implications for Intersection Safety

The recent advancements in light emitting diode (LED) technology and the comparative energy savings over traditional incandescent bulbs have led to many municipalities retrofitting traffic signals with new LED bulbs. Although a significant amount of literature exists regarding benefits of LED installations in terms of energy and economic savings, less attention has been given to the potential safety impacts of these massive retrofit projects. This thesis will evaluate the safety implications of the change to LED technology in traffic signals in Memphis, Tennessee, where 56 full LED conversions and 712 partial conversions (red and green only) of signalized intersections have occured since 2000 and present findings from analysis before and after crash data to determine the intersection safety impact, if any, of LED traffic signals

Identification of safety effects of infrastructure related measures, Deliverable 5.2 of the H2020 project SafetyCube

Identification of safety effects of infrastructure related measures, Deliverable 5.2 of the H2020 project SafetyCub

Streets of clay : design and assessment of sustainable urban and suburban streets

Since automobile use became widespread in North America, Europe, and Australia during the first two decades of the 20th century, cities and their streets have been reshaped to adapt to the motor vehicle surge. Efforts are now underway to re-define the purpose of arterial streets and to re-design these important thoroughfares accordingly. This movement has taken a variety of names, including “Livable Streets”, “Context Sensitive Streets” and “Complete Streets”. Such streets are multimodal transport links as well as places for socio-economic life and active living.This thesis presents findings from research on assessing just how “active” and “sustainable” are a set of arterial streets in five San Francisco Bay Area cities. Six streets, two re-designed as more “livable” or more “context sensitive” streets, and four more conventional arterial streets, are compared across a set of objective performance metrics and subjective assessments from street users and businesses. The analysis was grounded in a mixed methods approach. Streets were evaluated on an array of quantitative measures, as well as the results of six street user focus groups and surveys of 716 street users and local businesses.An important outcome of the research is a framework or model for influences on and supports for street activity and sustainability. Thesis findings affirm the importance to communities of multi-purpose street environments. Thesis results show that arterial streets can be redesigned to engender activity and promote sustainability. This research confirmed the importance of providing space on arterial streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. This thesis represents a significant extension of the knowledge in the field of what constitutes a more sustainable arterial street environment. The assessment framework integrates a far wider range of research disciplines and concerns than previously evidenced in the literature. As such it may provide policymakers with a better understanding and basis on which to pursue further arterial street re-designs in similar contexts to those of the six streets I studied in this research

Urban Mobility Transitions: Governing through Experimentation in Bristol and New York City

Transitions away from car-dominance is one of the key debates in urban research, policy and practice today. Car-free public space, cycling and convenient public transport services are widely seen as desirable, yet the reconfiguration of our streets and transport networks has been incremental. This doctoral research examines how mobility in cities is governed through experiments, commonly understood as pilot projects, and whether experiments hold potential for transformative change in urban mobility systems, including transitions away from automobility. The research draws on a synthesis of sustainability transitions, transport studies and urban studies literature, and traces the outcomes of 108 experiments undertaken over two decades in two cities: Bristol (UK) and New York City (USA) between 1996/7 and 2016. The findings demonstrate that experiments can contribute to transforming the physical shape of urban mobility systems and the institutions involved in governing them, and can even contribute to transitions, if assessed as change in commuting patterns away from car use. The research compares the capacity of respective municipal governments, Bristol City Council and NYC city government for ‘transformative experimentation’, and presents an institutionalist analysis of why the transformation of Bristol’s mobility system was more limited than NYC’s. To unpack the problematisation of piecemeal, ‘project-based’ experimentation driven by competitive funding landscapes, the research compares Bristol City Council and NYC city government as two municipalities with a different degree of reliance on external funding. The stronger capacity of NYC city government can be explained by its higher degree of fiscal autonomy and mobility policy discretion, whereas Bristol City Council’s capacity was limited by the centralisation of the UK state. Yet the thesis also shows that both municipalities pursued successful endogenous strategies in response to multi-scalar structure, and points to organisational and governance practices that can create ‘political space’ for urban actors to further transitions

Modeling the relationship between air quality and intelligent transportation system (ITS) with artificial neural networks.

Environmental or air quality impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are very difficult to measure. Some researchers have attempted to quantify the effects of individual ITS application on emissions; yet, the effects of ITS as a whole on ambient air quality have not been investigated. The objective of this research was to model the relationship between ITS and ambient air quality. The multiple Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) training with the data yielded a model for predicting the air quality. In addition, the ANN made the measurement of the effect of ITS on air quality possible. Data pertaining to sixty US cities (urbanized area) were used for this research. Input variables used were related to transportation and local characteristics, and ITS applications. Output variables were the annual average concentrations of CO, Ozone, and N02 in ambient air. The K-fold cross validation technique was used to train the ANN. The results of ANN model were compared with that of a Multiple Regression (MR) model showing the supremacy of ANN over MR. The ANN model results show that the Mean Absolute Errors (MAEs) in prediction vary from 5 to 20 %. This variance is justified since the factors related with industries, which contribute significantly to air pollution, have not been taken into consideration in this study. There were some unusual findings: in contrast to the common assumptions, N02 concentration increases with ITS intensity, and Ground Level Ozone concentration, in ambient air, seemed to be more transportation-dependent as compared with that of CO and N02• A recommendation for further research on this topic is to include more input variables, especially those which are relatcd with industries, to improve the accuracy of prediction. Scientific experimentations have also been recommended to corroborate the unusual findings

Information needs along the journey chain: users’ perspective about bus system

Buses constitute the main public transport mode in most cities of the world. Accessible Bus Systems are defined as systems that are easy to use. However accessible the infrastructure may be, it is unlikely to provide access if people cannot know about it. Therefore it is essential to have comprehensive and accessible information systems which describe the bus systems during all the stages of the journey. There is a widespread understanding amongst researchers that Information Systems can increase the efficiency of the system and that they should be oriented to meet bus users’ needs. However, existing information systems largely ignore the user’s point of view, in special the requirement of the disabled users. This thesis describes a methodology developed to investigate the problem of using information during a journey by bus in real conditions taking into account the (un)familiarity of the area in study and the individual’s previous knowledge of information system. Two main aspects are identified — the “Required Environment Capability” (the physical, social and psychological environment conditions) and the “Individual Capability Provided” (the individual ability in physical, sensorial and cognitive terms) to plan and execute a journey by bus in an unfamiliar environment. Because of the multidisciplinary aspect of the theme this study uses approaches from different fields of research to construct a methodology to understand individual information use. Based on the principles of Single Case Analysis adapted by adding the concept of the Capabilities Model (CM) (which explores interactions between individual and environment), the combined SCA/CM approach was employed to construct the INFOChain experiment. A set of information pieces were developed for the experiment, delivering Accessibility- Issues (AI-type) information in order to help older people to plan and execute different bus journeys in two different cities: London/UK and Brasilia/BR. General results have shown that although the AI-Type of information is considered important by older people, it needs more than simple expositions to actually take advantages of the information and be able to help disabled users