External link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316304616

Publication date: December 1, 2016

Capsule summary: This paper investigates the relationship between varying levels of traffic stress (LTS) routes and bicycle travel behavior.

Author(s): Wang, Haizhong; Palm, Matthew; Chen, Chen; Vogt, Rachel; Wang, Yiyi

Publisher(s): Journal of Transport Geography

Definition: Planning practices for pedestrians, bikes and transit
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Definitions: The movement of people
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Definitions: Transportation by bicycle
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Definition: A federally funded transportation policy-making organization, comprised of local government representatives and transportation authorities
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Definition: Governmental agency focused on transportation
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Definition: A large urban area
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Definition: Article from an academic or professional journal
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Description: The concept of bicycle stress level is rooted in the notion that bicyclists choose to ride on particular roadways not only to minimize physical effort, but to avoid stress from riding close to heavy vehicles or on high-volume and high-speed road segments. The levels of traffic stress (LTS) classification system groups urban cyclists into four tiers based on their levels of comfort with bicycling in traffic, and is used to rate roads and bike path in terms of which riders they can support. This method of classification is less data-intensive and less costly than other methods of bike infrastructure classification, but its effectiveness in explaining cyclist behavior has not been studied.

Objectives: The authors of this study utilize data from the Oregon Household Activities Survey (OHAS) in the Salem-Keizer metropolitan area in Oregon to examine whether the LTS classification of routes explains the behavior of local bicyclists, and if LTS criteria can explain bicycle use effectively enough to classify and plan future bike infrastructure.

Findings: The authors found that the results validated the use of LTS road classification criteria on travel behavior data from OHAS. However, they also found that mode choice, as determined by data from the American Community Survey (ACS), did not correlate with accessibility to low-stress bicycle infrastructure.

Recommendations: The results of the study suggest that the criteria provided by the LTS system may not be useful for cities that seek to prioritize infrastructure improvements specifically for increasing commuter cycling. However, the results do suggest that the system provides a valid measure of a household’s propensity to cycle. To clarify the study’s mixed results, further research should be undertaken on a broader cross-section of communities and locations.

Research Theme: Planning for Pedestrians, Bikes, and Transit

Community Type:

Transportation Mode: Bicycle, Personal

Planning Scope:

Organization Type: City, DOT, MPO or RPO

Planning Subject: Evaluation, Evaluation and Assessment