Routing for safer rides: a space syntax approach to predict bicycle collisions in a Brazilian city

Danaê Fernandes,Mariana Ragassi Urbano,Milena Kanashiro

doi:10.1590/2175-3369.013.e20200106

Danaê Fernandes, Mariana Ragassi Urbano + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/2175-3369.013.e20200106

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Abstract

Abstract In order to broaden the discussion on the safety of bicycle transport, this paper uses the analytical capacity of the spatial syntax applied to the recording of accidents involving cyclists in the city of Rolândia-PR, located in the Southern Region of Brazil. With the availability of 535 reports of trips made by bicycle mode, collected in the survey origin and destination of the city, a database was elaborated where each segment of the road received its numerical value from the loading of trips, and its corresponding values of choice and integration, generated in the Depthmap software. As a result, the relationship between the point of accident and the trip record by bicycle was refuted. In contrast, the angular values of choice and integration were sufficient to explain the occurrence of accidents involving cyclists in each segment of the municipal urban network, statistically proven through the generation of a generalized linear model. The contribution of this study focuses on the validity of using spatial syntax to predict safer routes, which is considered a theoretical-methodological approach that identifies priority routes for the implementation of specific infrastructure for bicycle transport.

Highlights

The bicycle is considered a mode of transport that should be enhanced, as it complies with the principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability (Gössling, 2016)
As a mode of transport to be supported, the bicycle has advantages and potential, meeting the socioeconomic needs of the population living in developing countries, since great disparities in access to transport systems can be noted among social segments, especially Latin American countries, such as Brazil, for example (Maricato, 2014)
In Brazil, 94.2% of the municipalities have less than 100,000 inhabitants, and the highest growth rate is registered in municipalities close to the metropolitan region's pole city, as is the case of the studied municipality (IBGE, 2019)

Summary

Introduction

The bicycle is considered a mode of transport that should be enhanced, as it complies with the principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability (Gössling, 2016). Combining efficiency with low impact on the environment, it is possible to make “door-to-door” shifts in order to compete with motorised modes of transport over distances of less than 5 km, without using fossil fuels and occupying less urban space (Litman, 2014). For Ahmad & Oliveira (2016), investment in bicycle transport quality is strategic, especially in developing countries, due to its increasing motorisation rates and the fact that it faces urban transport crises. As a mode of transport to be supported, the bicycle has advantages and potential, meeting the socioeconomic needs of the population living in developing countries, since great disparities in access to transport systems can be noted among social segments, especially Latin American countries, such as Brazil, for example (Maricato, 2014)

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