Bikeability in Basel

Abstract

“Bikeability” is becoming increasingly relevant in the field of transport- and urban planning. However, it is often unclear how bikeability is defined, let alone how it can be modeled. The goal of this project was to develop a quantitative method to model bikeability. A case study area in the city of Basel, Switzerland was selected for assessing the model. Here “bikeability” is understood as a measure of the ability and convenience in reaching important destinations by bike, based on the travel distance weighted by the perceived safety, -comfort, and -attractiveness of the streets and intersections along the routes. The underlying assumption was that cyclists try to minimize the distance traveled and maximize the perceived safety, -comfort, and -attractiveness of their route of choice. Unlike most of the previous bikeability assessments we reviewed, our method used existing route choice studies to identify attributes for quantifying cycling quality, which presumably results in a model that more accurately reflects real-life behavior. Many relevant attributes that have not been captured by previous models are included in this work, such as the high curbs of tram stops, tram tracks, and the turn direction at intersections. The method is suitable for several applications in urban planning, such as the identification of locations that need improvement and the comparison of planning measures. The current model covers conventional bikes used by commuting cyclists. However, the method could be used for E-bikes and non-commuting cyclists by applying the appropriate input values.

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