Testing cycling infrastructure layout in virtual environments: An examination from a bicycle rider’s perspective in simulation and online

Abstract

Marked on-road infrastructure for bicycle riders is a fast and cost-efficient way to expand cycling infrastructure and thus promote cycling as a means of transport. Infrastructure layout has been shown to influence cyclists’ as well as car drivers’ behavior towards cyclists in traffic observations, with on-street markings for cyclists in some circumstances reducing overtaking distances by car drivers. Simulator and online studies promise to provide a fast and easy way of rapid prototyping infrastructure layouts. But, despite of good face validity, how trustworthy are the results of both these research tools? In a case-study to inform planning authorities, two studies, one in a cycling simulator and an online survey, evaluated the effects of different on-street markings from bicycle riders’ perspectives. Results showed that in mixed traffic stronger visual separation between parking cars and flowing traffic and a bicycle pictogram on the road induced greater lateral distance of bicycle riders from parking cars. This infrastructure layout was also rated as safe, comfortable, and comprehensible from bicycle riders’ perspectives. From a methods’ evaluation perspective, effects from the cycling simulator may be interpreted as behaviorally valid relatively between conditions only. Both methods offer a cost-effective approach to initially test infrastructure solutions by weeding out the less favorable ones in the early stages of the design.