Bicycle Trail Research Articles

Prioritizing Areas for Development of an 8,000-mi Bicycle Network throughout the State of Texas

In response to the Texas Bicycle Tourism Trails Act (Texas Transportation Code § 201.9025), the Texas Department of Transportation collaborated with its Bicycle Advisory Committee to investigate the development of a statewide bicycle tourism trails (BTT) network. The conceptual bicycle network is over 8,000 mi long and crosses cultural highlights including historic monuments and national parks throughout Texas. The current bicycle network offers varying levels of service to cyclists and there are substantial gaps in existing bicycle facilities. The development of a statewide BTT network in Texas is envisioned to be a long-term collaborative process built incrementally over many years with many different partners. Geographic information system (GIS)-based visualizations help make the task of planning such a feat easier. High Street Consulting was contracted to develop a visual GIS-based tool that scores segments of the bicycle network based on data-informed criteria pertaining to existing conditions throughout the network. The corridor prioritization tool helps planners select where to target next with regard to developing facilities on the BTT. It allows users to do the following: (a) view planned highway projects and assess where bicycle trail improvements could be coordinated with other construction activities; (b) view parks, historic sites, and other cultural locations in relation to the BTT; (c) upload a locally preferred route; and (d) review reports about cyclist crash history and level of traffic stress for cyclists. The tool is powered by an SQL database in which the data used for scoring are stored and can be updated, and was deployed to a web server using a cluster of Docker containers.

GEOMETRYCZNE FORMY W KRAJOBRAZIE – ROLA LATARNI MORSKICH W TYCZENIU LĄDOWYCH SZLAKÓW TURYSTYCZNYCH

The subject of this study is the potential of lighthouses located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship as a leitmotif for the EuroVelo 10 bicycle trail. The study examined from which places on the trail lighthouses can be seen, marked places where panoramic views of the sea open, and suggested activities that could help improve the exposure of lighthouses from the perspective of the trail. It was found that 6 of the 7 surveyed objects are already visible, in some form, from the trail. It was concluded that lighthouse objects are already or could become valuable landmarks for EuroVelo 10 route, but it should be considered how to maintain continuity of visual experience on the sections between lighthouses.

MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT BATTERY FOR CHILDREN-SECOND EDITION: THEORETICAL ADEQUACY OF A MOTOR ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT

ABSTRACTObjective: To investigate the adequacy of the theoretical model of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2) instrument.Methods: 582 children, of both sexes, aged between 3 and 5 years and residents in the city of Maringá (state of Paraná, Southern Brazil) participated in the study. Data were collected from May/2014 to June/2015 and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The evidence obtained from exploratory factor analysis indicated the presence of two factors, which was the option that best fitted the explanatory model. Hence, it was necessary to regroup the motor tasks of the dimensions “Aiming & catching” and “Balance” into only one dimension. It is noteworthy that the “Bicycle trail” motor task did not fit the model, as it presented a low and negative factor load in the analyzed dimensions. In the confirmatory factor analysis, adequate adjustment indices were observed for the tested model, which confirmed the non-classification of the “Bicycle trail” motor task in the original dimension.Conclusions: After removing the “Bicycle trail” motor task, the adjusted two-factor model seems to be the most appropriate to assess the motor performance of children participating in the study.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF CYCLING ACROSS VARIOUS NATIONS

The purpose of this paper was to find the impact of cycling in five nations, namely Canada, Europe, New Zealand, UK and USA. Bicycle tourism and trail tourism contribute significantly to local, state, national and international economies (Handy et al., 2014). Research papers for the mentioned five Nations were analysed about the volume of their economic impact, and which were most benefitted. Analysis is based on behaviours (satisfaction) of cyclists, development of local communities and small scale businesses, management and governance of cycling, tourism, environment, recreation, health benefits, tourists and commuters, which saved the state and national governments' funds as well as increased fuel and moneysaving. Six broad factors, i.e., area's topography, its climate, the cycling infrastructure, presence of accessible bicycle resources, business support and community support were analysed to examine their affect on cycling. Characteristics of Indian market were also examined, based on which few suggestions are given.

Assessing the Completeness of Bicycle Trail and Lane Features in OpenStreetMap for the United States

AbstractThis article assesses the completeness of bicycle trail and on‐street lane features in OpenStreetMap (OSM). Comparing OSM cycling features with reference data from local planning agencies for selected US Urbanized Areas shows that OSM bicycle trails tend to be more completely mapped than bicycle lanes. Manual evaluation of mapped cycling features in OSM and Google Maps for selected test areas within the Central Business Districts of Portland (OR) and Miami (FL) through comparison with governmental datasets, satellite imagery, and Google Street View, shows that the Bicycle layer in Google Maps can help to identify some missing or erroneously mapped OSM cycling links. However, Google Maps was also found to have some gaps in its data layers, suggesting that consultation of current trail and lane data from local planning authorities, if available, should be considered as an additional data source for bicycle related planning projects.

Beyond the Furnace:

The year 2009 was especially significant for Pittsburgh. The city had just celebrated its 250th anniversary with a year-long series of concerts, parades, and other public spectacles. Among these were renovations to the iconic Point State Park, the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage bicycle trail to Cumberland, Maryland, and a “Parade of Champions” at the Senator John Heinz History Center featuring the legends of Pittsburgh sports. City leaders saw in these festivities an opportunity for fostering “improved regional perceptions of Pittsburgh” and “defining a vision for our region’s future.” The marketing blitz paid quick and unexpected dividends when in May the Obama administration announced the community would host an upcoming G20 Summit. The president’s emphasis on “the green economy” meshed perfectly with the booster narrative of Pittsburgh as “a great poster child [for] economic transformation.” Combined with the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory and the Penguins winning the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup, by the end of the year residents of the ’Burgh had plenty to justify claims that they were back from the ruins of deindustrialization. Though marked by less fanfare, 2009 also witnessed the publication of two fascinating books by the University of Pittsburgh Press that drew heavily on these same themes of economic and environmental transformation. Designed explicitly for an audience beyond the confines of the academy, Franklin Toker’s Pittsburgh: A New Portrait and Edward K. Muller’s edited volume, An Uncommon Passage: Travelling through History on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail , are also of importance to scholars for their insight into the process of community and regional regeneration in the postindustrial era.

Sliding-Mode Control Scheme for an Intelligent Bicycle

This paper deals with the robust stabilization and trajectory-tracking problems of a riderless bicycle. A dynamic model, which takes into account geometric-stabilization mechanisms due to bicycle trail, is presented. A posture controller which combines second-order sliding-mode control and disturbance observer is derived. Then, an innovative tracking controller based on the proposed posture controller and the dynamic-inversion framework is designed. Simulation and experimental results on an autonomous bicycle show the performances of the proposed strategy for the stabilization and tracking problems.

Preserving a Historic National Park Roadway

The Hermit Road is a historic roadway in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. It was first constructed in 1912 by the Santa Fe Railroad and improved from 1934 to 1935 by the Bureau of Public Roads and the National Park Service. An 8-mi scenic roadway along the south rim of the Grand Canyon, the Hermit Road offers several overlooks and parking areas that give the visitor breathtaking views of one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The original design of this roadway reflects many features of context-sensitive design. Historic features of the roadway include stone masonry walls at overlooks and pullouts, weep holes in masonry walls, and stone culvert headwalls. After seven decades, the Hermit Road was showing its age. The National Park Service faced the challenge of how to retain a high level of historic integrity while also rehabilitating and improving the Hermit Road. The pavement surface was in poor repair; some of the road and overlook historic features were endangered. The narrow road, 18 to 20 ft wide, presented a safety concern. Improvements constructed in 2008 included widening and resurfacing; the enhancement of existing overlooks, parking areas, and trails; and the addition of a pedestrian and bicycle trail on a separate alignment. These improvements were accomplished with minimal impact on historic and natural resources. This paper describes the environmental compliance process, roadway design issues, and how historic integrity was generally retained in the roadway design. The perspectives of historic preservation, environmental protection, resource conservation, and roadway design are presented.

Trails, lanes, or traffic: Valuing bicycle facilities with an adaptive stated preference survey

This study evaluates individual preferences for five different cycling environments by trading off a better facility with a higher travel time against a less attractive facility at a lower travel time. The tradeoff of travel time to amenities of a particular facility informs our understanding of the value attached to different attributes such as bike-lanes, off-road trails, or side-street parking. The facilities considered here are off-road facilities, in-traffic facilities with bike-lane and no on-street parking, in-traffic facilities with a bike-lane and on-street parking, in-traffic facilities with no bike-lane and no on-street parking and in-traffic facilities with no bike-lane but with parking on the side. We find that respondents are willing to travel up to twenty minutes more to switch from an unmarked on-road facility with side parking to an off-road bicycle trail, with smaller changes associated with less dramatic improvements.

Two Approaches to Valuing Some of Bicycle Facilities' Presumed Benefits: Propose a session for the 2007 National Planning Conference in the City of Brotherly Love

This article reports the results of two different approaches to valuing some of what are thought to be benefits of bicycle trails and lanes. First, an adaptive stated preference survey is used to measure how much travel time individuals are willing to spend to obtain particular features of on- and off-street bicycle facilities. These findings indicate that bicycle commuters in Minneapolis and St. Paul prefer bicycle lanes on existing streets over off-street bicycle trails, and also prefer them over streets that have no onstreet parking but lack designated bicycle lanes. Second, I used home sales data to learn the effect of bicycle trail proximity on home value. Though proximity to bicycle facilities is valued differently for different types, it actually significantly reduced home value in suburban locations. Suburban home values were most reduced by proximity to roadside trails, which also reduced home values significantly in the cities. Proximity to other types of bicycle facilities in the cities did not significantly affect home values.

Barriers to bicycle helmet use.

To determine why people do or do not wear helmets while bicycling. A survey was conducted from August through October 1999. Two survey areas were chosen for this study: local public schools and paved bicycle trails. For the school arm of the study, 3 public elementary, middle, and high schools were selected from 3 different regions of Rochester, Minnesota, for participation in the study. For the bicycle arm of the study, 3 paved trails located in southeastern Minnesota were selected. A total of 2970 surveys were distributed to the public school system, and 463 surveys were collected from bicyclists on the paved bicycle trails. The survey population was split into 3 age categories for analysis: child (7-10), adolescent (11-19), and adult (older than 19). Of the 2970 surveys distributed to Rochester public schools, 2039 (69%) were returned for analysis. Seventy-eight of the surveys that were completed in the public school system were discarded for the following reasons: age <10 years (35), insufficient completion (24), and selection of every reason for not wearing a bicycle helmet (19). A total of 463 surveys were completed on the 3 paved bicycle trails. One survey from the paved bicycle trail arm of the study was discarded because of insufficient completion. The total number of surveys used for statistical analysis was 2424. The distribution of male (52.7%) and female (47.3%) participants was similar. No significant difference in bicycle helmet use was found between genders. The age groups with the highest rate of bicycle helmet use were 50 to 59 years (62%) and older than 59 years (70%). The age groups with the lowest rate of bicycle helmet use were 11 to 19 years (31%) and 30 to 39 years (30%). The most common reasons given for not wearing a bicycle helmet were "uncomfortable," "annoying," "it's hot," "don't need it," and "don't own one." Bicycle helmet use was significantly influenced by peer helmet use in all 3 age groups. Children also were more likely to wear a bicycle helmet when their parents wore bicycle helmets. A majority of respondents in all 3 age groups indicated that bicycle helmets provided either "moderate" or "great" protection from head injury, although significantly more adults (65.9%) than adolescents (43.9%) believed that the protection afforded by bicycle helmets was "great." Despite this belief, a majority of adolescents and adults indicated that there was only a "slight risk" of head injury when bicycling without a helmet. Participants in all 3 categories were more likely to wear a bicycle helmet when they indicated either that there was a "great risk" of head injury when bicycling without a helmet or that helmets provided "great protection" from head injury. Adolescents and adults who believed that bicycling without a helmet put one at "great risk" for head injury also were more likely to indicate that helmets provided "great protection" from head injury. The prevalence of bicycle helmet use remains low despite research indicating the high level of head injury risk when bicycling without a helmet and the significant protection afforded by bicycle helmets. With the information provided by this survey, a well-designed intervention to increase the use of bicycle helmets can be implemented. Suggestions for a campaign to promote an increase in bicycle helmet use include focusing efforts on males and females between 11 and 19 years and 30 and 39 years of age; educating the public on new bicycle helmet designs that address comfort, ventilation, and fashion; educating adolescents on the significant protection from head injury afforded by bicycle helmets; and educating the public on the risk and severity of head injury associated with bicycling without a helmet. The influence of parents and peers on bicycle helmet use may be targeted through education and statements such as, "If you wear a bicycle helmet, you are not only protecting yourself, you are also helping to protect your friends and/or children." bicycle, helmet, injury, accident, prevention.

Bicycle Trail Study—1983. Recreation Resources Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Wisconsin-Extension, 602 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703. January 1984. 8p

Bicycle Trail Study—1983. Recreation Resources Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Wisconsin-Extension, 602 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703. January 1984. 8p

The Center out There: Pilgrim's Goal

The Center out There: Pilgrim's Goal