Assessment of local, state, and federal barriers to implementing bicycle infrastructure: A Virginia case study

Abstract

Bicycle infrastructure can increase the comfort of bicyclists, grow bicycle mode share, and reduce bicycle-vehicle crashes. With worldwide goals to increase non-motorized vehicle travel and decrease traffic fatalities, successful bicycle infrastructure implementation is a key component to safer and more comfortable bicycling environments. Yet, transportation planners and engineers often face difficulties in implementing bicycle infrastructure. This study examines the state of bicycle infrastructure and the barriers to implementation encountered in the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA.A two-stage survey was deployed to transportation planners, engineers, and other government personnel at the town, city, county, regional, and state levels to collect information about their experiences with bicycle infrastructure implementation. Survey results indicated that the majority (77%) of jurisdictions intended to improve bicycle infrastructure in the next five years. However, despite this anticipated progress, those surveyed cited substantial barriers towards actually implementing the infrastructure. Lack of funding was the most commonly cited barrier, with 61% of respondents reporting this barrier at all levels of government. At the local level, lack of public support was cited as the most common barrier. Yet less than half of the respondents indicated their jurisdiction had an established process for residents to provide input for bicycle infrastructure improvements. Additionally, 21% of respondents encountered right-of-way acquisition as a difficulty. In summary, this study presents a framework for assessing the state of bicycle infrastructure development and identifies specific barriers at various government levels, which may help policy makers and transportation planners to target barriers specific to their governing units for more effective bicycle infrastructure implementation.