If You Paint It, Will They Come?

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine usage of new dedicated bicycle lanes that were painted on to a major street feeding into a mid size university in a small midwestern town. Controversy over the bicycle lanes included resistance by some city leaders that bicycle lane usage would be poor and would not justify the expense and inconvenience of adding these lanes and removing parking spaces on a major city street. METHODS: Thrice weekly counts of bicycle usage and motor vehicle traffic were conducted for two months. Also collected were data related to daily gas price, weather conditions, and time of day. RESULTS: Prior to the bicycle lanes being painted on to the major street, a mean of 14±4 bicycles•day-1 rode on the street (both directions). Following the addition of painted, dedicated bicycle lines, daily bicycle usage increased 264% to 37±10 during the first two weeks, 27 ±11 (92% increase) during week 3 and 4 and 39±6 (182% increase) during week 5 and 6. Repeated measures indicated significant change of mean bicycle users during the weeks after bicycle lanes were added compared with baseline. No significant effect of either weather or gas prices was determined, however, variations in these variables were too low for statistical detection. The number of motor vehicles did not change (−10%) with a mean 488 to 440•day-1 over 2 months (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Bicycle usage increased significantly on a major street following the addition of dedicated, painted bicycle lanes. These results provide evidence for healthy community members in justifying environments to city leaders that facilitate physical activity by supporting bicycle lanes.