Abstract
BackgroundWe studied the effect of key development and expansion of an off-road multipurpose trail system in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 2000 and 2007 to understand whether infrastructure investments are associated with increases in commuting by bicycle.MethodsWe used repeated measures regression on tract-level (N = 116 tracts) data to examine changes in bicycle commuting between 2000 and 2008–2012. We investigated: 1) trail proximity measured as distance from the trail system and 2) trail potential use measured as the proportion of commuting trips to destinations that might traverse the trail system. All analyses (performed 2015–2016) adjusted for tract-level sociodemographic covariates and contemporaneous cycling infrastructure changes (e.g., bicycle lanes).ResultsTracts that were both closer to the new trail system and had a higher proportion of trips to destinations across the trail system experienced greater 10-year increases in commuting by bicycle.ConclusionsProximity to off-road infrastructure and travel patterns are relevant to increased bicycle commuting, an important contributor to overall physical activity. Municipal investment in bicycle facilities, especially off-road trails that connect a city’s population and its employment centers, is likely to lead to increases in commuting by bicycle.
Highlights
We studied the effect of key development and expansion of an off-road multipurpose trail system in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 2000 and 2007 to understand whether infrastructure investments are associated with increases in commuting by bicycle
In models including mutual adjustment for the two exposures, estimates further weakened and the trend in bicycle commuting was no longer significantly associated with tract distance to the trails
We find increased bicycle commuting in tracts closest to a new offroad trail system in Minneapolis
Summary
We studied the effect of key development and expansion of an off-road multipurpose trail system in Minneapolis, Minnesota between 2000 and 2007 to understand whether infrastructure investments are associated with increases in commuting by bicycle. Active commuting-walking or biking to work-provides physical activity [3] with known health benefits [4], as well as decreased motorized vehicle traffic and emissions [5]. The 50 most populous U.S cities experienced more pronounced increases in active commuting, with 14% increase in pedestrian commuters and 71% increase in Hirsch et al International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2017) 14:21 bicycling commuters [8]. Overall rates remain low, with only 2.8 and 0.6% of U.S commuters walking and bicycling, respectively, and 5.0 and 1.2% of the 50 most populous cities’ commuters walking and bicycling, respectively [8]. Given the low prevalence of bicycling, further efforts are crucial to understand factors shaping bicycle commuting
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