Cycling for Transport or Fun? Determining Cyclist Trip Purpose on Off-Street Urban Trails

Understanding the purpose of cycling trips on off-street trails is useful for decision making, trail design, and network planning. In this study, a method was developed to quickly and easily determine bicycle trip purpose (transportation versus recreation) on such trails. The method was tested on off-street trails in large American cities: The 606 in Chicago, The Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail, and the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans. The method did not require cyclists to dismount to answer the survey question and a high percentage of passing cyclists (70% or more) responded at all three study sites. Surveys were conducted in the assumed morning (7AM-10AM) and evening commute peaks (3 PM-6PM) on each trail. In the three case studies, the majority of trips were reported as taking place for transportation purposes, ranging from 39.4% to 83.1% across the three sites and observation periods. The Lafitte Greenway was overwhelmingly used for transportation, with 78.2% and 83.1% of trips reported for transportation purposes in the morning and evening observation periods. The method is quick, inexpensive, and requires little training for surveyors. It could be replicated to determine relative percentages of transportation and recreation bicycle trips, as well as correlates of transportation and recreational trips such as weather, trail location, weekdays versus weekend, and time of year on other trails. In this paper, the methods of the survey are detailed, and the results from each case study are presented.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF20 Standing Committee on Bicycle Transportation.
• Authors:
  • Ederer, David J
  • Boyd, Nico
  • Watkins, Kari E
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle travel; Bicycling; Bikeways; Recreation; Trip purpose; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Atlanta (Georgia); Chicago (Illinois); New Orleans (Louisiana)
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01664254
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-04980
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 27 2018 11:14AM