Nearly half (46%) of the driving-age adults (16 years or older) have access to a bicycle, and 54% with access used it the month immediately preceding the survey. Bicyclists riding in areas without bike paths or lanes are nearly twice as likely to feel endangered (mostly by motorists) as bicyclists with paths or lanes, and more than four times as likely to be dissatisfied with how their community is designed for making biking safe. Frequent bicyclists tend to have a strong preference for more bike lanes over more bike paths, while infrequent bicyclists display no marked preference for either

Feuerberg, Gary

Rosa P: A digital library for transportation research

Bureau of Transportation Statistics U.S. Department of TransportationPrepared by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics with assistance from the National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationThose Who Have Access to a Bicycleare Likely to Ride ItNearly half (46%) of the adult population1 haveaccess to a bicycle, and more than half withaccess (about 52 million) rode their bikes in the30 days prior to answering the survey.2 Anotherfive million people rode a bike during that timeperiod even though they didn’t have directaccess to one (presumably by renting or bor-rowing a bike) for a total of 57 million bicy-clists each summer month. Of these, 58% (33million) were infrequent bicyclists, riding oneto five times per month, while 42% (24 mil-lion) were frequent bicyclists, riding more thanfive times per month. Thus, 12% of the adultpopulation, or one in eight adults, rides a bicy-cle more than five days per month during thesummer period (see Figure 1).Availability of Bike Paths and LanesBike paths and lanes are the chief infrastructurefeatures that might be expected to affect bicy-cling. The availability of bike paths and lanesare shown in Table 1. About a quarter of thepopulation have both bike paths and lanesavailable in the areas where they live or ride,June 2004How Bike Paths and Lanes Make a DifferenceIssue BriefNumber 11• Nearly half (46%) of the driving-age adults (16 years or older) haveaccess to a bicycle, and 54% with access used it the month immedi-ately preceding the survey.• Bicyclists riding in areas without bike paths or lanes are nearly twiceas likely to feel endangered (mostly by motorists) as bicyclists withpaths or lanes, and more than four times as likely to be dissatisfiedwith how their community is designed for making biking safe.• Frequent bicyclists tend to have a strong preference for more bikelanes over more bike paths, while infrequent bicyclists display nomarked preference for either.1 For purposes of this research, an adult is defined as 16 years of age or older.2 The survey was conducted during the summer of 2002. For survey description, see end of this issue brief.and approximately 3 out of 10 adult Americanshave access to one or the other. Forty-three per-cent of adult Americans live in communitiesthat don’t have bike paths or bike lanes. As arule, bike paths are specially created pathwaysaway from the main roads, typically in recre-ational areas. Bike lanes provide the bicyclist hisor her own lane on a road shared withmotorists and typically provide direct routes fortravelers wanting to get to work or school. Thepresence of bike paths and lanes does notappear to have a significant effect on whetherpeople ride bicycles or on how frequently theyride. Instead, the significance of biking facili-ties—paths and lanes—lies in the increasedsense of personal safety. Presence of Bike Paths and Lanes andthe Perception of Biking SafetyNearly one out of eight (13%) people surveyedwho rode one or more times during the previ-ous month said they felt threatened for theirpersonal safety at least once. In areas whereboth bike paths and lanes were available, thepercent of bicyclists feeling threatened for theirpersonal safety dropped to 10%.3 When neitherbike paths nor lanes were available, the per-centage increases to 17%. When only one isavailable, either bike paths or bike lanes, thepercentage fearful lies in between at about 12%(see Table 2). Not surprisingly, the most oftenTable 1. Distribution of Bike Paths and LanesBicycle infrastructure Population Populationavailable (percent) sizeBoth bike paths and lanes 26.3 52.4 millionBike paths but not lanes 24.1 48.0 millionBike lanes but not paths 6.5 12.9 millionNeither bike paths nor lanes 43.0 85.7 millionSOURCE: National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes & Behav-iors, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washing-ton, DC, 2002.Figure 1. Bicycling in the United States During the Summer (in millions)* Includes those who biked but did not have regular access to a bicycle.SOURCE: National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes & Behaviors, Bureau of TransportationStatistics and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation,Washington, DC, 2002.Biked > 5 days in past monthActually biked last month*Says (s)he bikes*Bicycle availableAdult population (2002)0 50 100 150 200 250208.196.789.457.023.63 All percent differences are statistically significant at the p < 0.05level. This means there is less than a 5% probability that the differ-ence could have occurred by chance.mentioned source of their unease is frommotorists. Of the bicyclists who felt endan-gered, 87% referred to feeling threatened bymotorists. Thus, where lanes and paths areabsent, bicyclists become more concerned fortheir personal safety (see Table 2). Nearly one-third of the population (32%) is dis-satisfied with their community designs formaking biking safe. When this dissatisfactionwas analyzed by the bicycle infrastructure avail-able (i.e., bike paths and lanes), a very strongrelationship between infrastructure and satisfac-tion is found. When both bike paths and lanesare available, the percent dissatisfied with thecommunity design for making biking safe isonly about 11%. When only one is available—either bike paths or bike lanes, but not both—the percent dissatisfied rises to 29%. Incommunities where neither bike paths nor bikelanes are available, the percent dissatisfied isalmost half the adult population at 48% (seeFigure 2 and Table 2).Community Needs and Bicycle ActivityIn general, bicyclists expressed a stronger prefer-ence for more bike lanes over more bike paths,but this difference is due solely to a preferenceon the part of frequent bicyclists. Frequent bicy-clists expressed a preference for more bike lanesover more bike paths by a 36% to 22% margin,but there is virtually no difference in preferencefor the infrequent bicyclists. More of the fre-quent bicyclists mention wanting bike lanesthan do the infrequent bicyclists (36% vs 30%),while more of the infrequent bicyclists wantmore bike paths than do the frequent bicyclists(29% vs 22%) (see Figures 3 and 4). These find-ings are consistent with the commonly heldbelief in the bicycle community that as bicy-clists ride more frequently they “graduate” frombike paths to bike lanes. According to this view,infrequent bicyclists want more bike paths forrecreational reasons and perhaps for safety aswell; later, as experienced, more confident bicy-clists, they want more bike lanes that they canuse for shopping and commuting.Background information for the data presented inthis paper. A national survey of adults was con-ducted in the summer of 2002 for the Bureau ofTransportation Statistics and the National High-way Traffic Safety Administration. The samplesize was 9,616. The objective of this survey wasTable 2. Sense of Endangerment and Dissatisfaction with Community Design for Making Biking Safe, by Infrastructure Percent Percent dissatisfied Bicycle infrastructure feeling with communityavailable endangered designOVERALL 13 321. Both bike paths and lanes 10 112. Bike paths but not lanes OR Bike lanes but not bike paths 12 293. Neither bike paths nor lanes 17 48SOURCE: National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes & Behav-iors, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washing-ton, DC, 2002.Figure 2. Dissatisfaction with Community Design for Making Biking Safe, by Availability of Bike Paths andLanesSOURCE: National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes & Behav-iors, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and National Highway TrafficSafety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washing-ton, DC, 2002.0102030405060Both paths and lanesEither pathsor lanesNeither pathsnor lanesto determine the magnitude of bicycle andpedestrian activity in the nation and the pub-lic’s behavior and attitudes regarding biking andwalking. This survey—the first national surveyof its kind—sheds light on the effect of bikepaths, bike lanes, and sidewalks on attitudesand behavior towards biking and walking.We’re on the WEB!www.bts.govanswers@bts.govInfo line:1-800-853-1351For More Information:Gary FeuerbergTransportation SpecialistU.S. Department of TransportationBureau of Transportation Statistics400 7th Street SW, Room 3430Washington, DC 20590Phone: 202-349-0320 Fax: 202-366-3383Gary.Feuerberg@bts.govFigure 3. Bicyclist's Activity and Desire for more Bike PathsInfrequent bicyclist Frequent bicyclist010203040Figure 4. Bicyclist's Activity and Desire for more Bike LanesSOURCE for Figures 3 and 4: National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes & Behaviors, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC, 2002.Infrequent bicyclist Frequent bicyclist010203040

How Bike Paths and Lanes Make a Difference

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How Bike Paths and Lanes Make a Difference

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Rosa P: A digital library for transportation research