Effect of Community Road Infrastructure, Socio-Demographic and Street Pattern in Promoting Walking as Sustainable Transportation Mode

Abstract

Background: Traffic demand is growing worldwide and the increased carbon emission from transport and travel activities is contributing to greenhouse gas emission and climate change. As the oil and gas capital of Canada, the city of Calgary has a very high carbon footprint per population and the reduction of automobile use is an important policy goal for the city. Walking, a part of active transportation promotes sustainable transportation initiative by reducing greenhouse gas emission. To encourage walking, favorable walking environment should be ensured which largely depends on street pattern and connectivity. However, the effect of street pattern on walking at community level was not explored much in previous studies, particularly at rapidly expanding city such as Calgary’s context. Aims and Objectives: The study identifies the effects of different neighborhood design and planning factors associated with the share of walking in work trips while controlling for differences in social economic characteristics of the neighborhood. Methods: A linear regression model was developed using community-level data from the 2011 census and the road infrastructure data of Calgary. Results: Our study finds that different street patterns and types of land use, length of train tracks, number of train stations and number of schools have significant effect on walking. Conclusion: Thus, different neighbourhood street patterns and land uses should be considered in the development of new communities for promoting active and sustainable transportation.