Transit-oriented development and bikeability: Classifying public transport station areas in Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Transit-oriented development (TOD), characterized by a high and mix development around public transport stations, is gaining traction as a sustainable way to support the use of public transport for regional trips and active transport for local trips. To support integrated land use and transport planning, several TOD typologies have been developed, with a focus on land use and transport characteristics, and more recently walkability. While TOD aims to motivate the use of active modes, including cycling, assessments of bikeability have been left out of TOD typologies. To fill this gap, this study seeks to develop a bicycle-oriented TOD typology that combines indicators related to the cycling environment with traditional land use and transport indicators. Using Montreal, Canada as a case study, 14 indicators are generated to develop a TOD typology oriented on bikeability and the 114 public station areas are grouped into seven distinct clusters. The results demonstrate that the addition of bikeability criteria to the TOD typology helps discriminate the different types of stations based on their current bikeability and bikeability potential. The proposed framework enables identifying and prioritizing targeted interventions to station development. This study is of relevance to planners and researchers aiming to integrate cycling in the development of TOD.