MEASURING THE SAFETY EFFECT OF RAISED BICYCLE CROSSINGS USING A NEW RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Before-and-after study methodology was developed and applied to evaluating the effect on bicyclists' safety of raising urban bicycle crossings by 4 to 12 cm. In total, 44 junctions were reconstructed in this way in Gothenburg, Sweden. Four of these were studied in detail. Before the implementations, bicyclists were riding either in the roadway or on separate paths parallel to the roadway. The paths then ended with short ramps or curb cuts at each cross street, and bicyclists used nonelevated, marked bicycle crossings, similar to pedestrian crosswalks but delineated by white painted rectangles rather than zebra stripes. The results show that the paths with raised crossings attracted more than 50% more bicyclists and that the safety per bicyclist was improved by approximately 20% due to the increase in bicycle flow, and with an additional 10% to 50% due to the improved layout. However, the increased bicyclist volume means that the total number of bicycle accidents is expected to increase. Besides accident analysis, the change in risk was estimated using four different methods: surveys of bicyclists and experts, respectively; conflict data; and a quantitative expert model. Using a Bayesian approach for combining the results shows that the most likely effect of raising the bicycle crossing is a risk reduction of around 30%, compared with the before situation with a conventional bicycle crossing. Motorists and pedestrians also saw safety benefits from this traffic-calming measure.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/1636-10
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=MEASURING+THE+SAFETY+EFFECT+OF+RAISED+BICYCLE+CROSSINGS+USING+A+NEW+RESEARCH+METHODOLOGY&author=P.+Garder&author=L.+LEDEN&author=U.+PULKKINEN&publication_year=1998
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309065089
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1636, Bicycle and Pedestrian Research 1998.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Garder, P
  • LEDEN, L
  • PULKKINEN, U
• Publication Date: 1998

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 64-70
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1636
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Bicycle commuting; Bicycle crashes; Bicycle travel; Bicycles; Measures of effectiveness; Risk assessment; Safety; Traffic calming; Traffic volume
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Raised bicycle crossings
• Geographic Terms: Goteborg (Sweden)
• Old TRIS Terms: Accident risks; Bicycle volume
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00757467
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309065089
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 4 1998 12:00AM