Review of Related Literature

Bicycling and walking were described as the forgotten modes of transportation by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The non-motorized options had been overlooked by many Federal, State and local agencies for year, even as others acknowledged their importance. The sources of funding were limited, with $6 million in federal funds spent on pedestrian and bicycle projects in 1990. Fewer than 4.4 percent

of commuting trips in 1990 were made by bicycling and walking, down from 6.7 percent in 1980. Recognizing the decline in walking and bicycling, and rise in fatalities, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) adopted the first national transportation policy in 1994 to increase the use of bicycling and encourage planners and engineers to accommodate to bicycle and pedestrian needs in designing transportation facilities for urban and suburban areas, and increase pedestrian safety through public information and improved crosswalk design, signaling, school crossings and sidewalks. According to the study of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the reasoning behind this new support for bicycling and walking was based on the numerous benefits associated with these modes. Officials recognized the following benefits and sought to use bicycling and walking to reach environmental, health, economic and transportation goals. These benefits are as important now as they were fifteen years ago. According to the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), walking trips accounted for 10.9 percent of all trips reported while one percent of all trips reported were taken by bike. Together, the two modes account for 11.9 percent of all reported trips. Both reported bicycling and walking trips have increased by 25 percent since the 2001 NHTS. The number of reported walking trips has more than doubled since the first survey, from 18 billion in 1990 to 42.5 billion in 2009. Bicycling trips saw a similar increase from 1.7 billion to 4 billion reported trips during the same time period. Landis et. al identified six factors to improve the cycling level of service based on the response of 150 participants following an on-road cycling experience. The participants were most interested in having a bike lane or paved shoulder, more space bikes and vehicles, low vehicle speed, good pavement condition, and a small amount of on-street parking.

A bicycle-intercept survey conducted by Shafizadeh and Neimeier found that the biggest reason for not cycling is the lack of dedicated biking facilities. Walking is the most basic and universal mode of transport and it is environmental friendly as well as healthy. Litman(2009) argues that walking is generally undervalued in the current transportation and planning practices, because the faster means of transportation are given the priority and walking is the slowest mode of transport. Litman (2009) states that in many cities in which walking (and biking) conditions have improved, the transport urban system also improves as a whole. As also stated by Litman (2009), Lee & Moudon (2006) conclude that walking is more sensitive to detailed environmental characteristics compared to driving.

Pucher & Buehler (2009) state that a multi-faceted approach is the most effective way to encourage cycling and to make cycling safer. In relation to urban design they suggest improving roadway design to facilitate cycling on roads with and without separate cycling facilities, providing ample bike parking, restriction of car use, especially in residential neighbourhoods and city centres, and land use policies that discourage low density suburban sprawl and foster compact, mixed-use developments that generate shorter and thus more bike-able trips. Landis et. al conducted a similar study on pedestrian characteristics and found that the four most important items are the presence of sidewalks, the lateral separation of pedestrian and vehicles, the lack of physical barriers or buffers, and low vehicle volume and speed. Scheurer (2001) states that it is difficult to predict how the physical environment influences peoples choice of transport modes. Nonetheless, it is commonly acknowledged that the physical environment influences transport quantity. When planning urban settlements, it is important to be aware of that people choose to accomplish their daily tasks with a minimum of obstacles and from this perspective the private car is far too often the most convenient choice.

References:

The National Bicycling and Walking Study Transportation Choices for a Changing America. 1994 Federal Highway Administration. FHWA. PD. 94-023 Retrieved from www.walkinginfo.org/library/details.cfm?id=4311

Clifton, K.J, and Krizek, K.J. (2004). The Utility of the NHTS in Understanding Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel. National Household Travel Survey Conference: Understanding Our Nations Travel. Retrieved from http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/archive/conferences/nhts/Krizek.pdf.

Landis, Bruce, Venkat Vattikuti, and Michael Brannick. Real-Time Human Perceptions: Toward a Bicycle Level of Service. Transportation Research Record 1578, pp. 119-126, 1997.

Shafizadeh, Kevan, and Debbie Niemeier. Bicycle Journey-to-Work: Travel Behavior Characteristics and Spatial Attributes. Transportation Research Record 1578, pp. 84-90, 1997.

Landis, Bruce, Venkat Vattikuti, Russell Ottenberg, and Martin Guttenplan. Modeling the Roadside Walking Environment: Pedestrian Level of Service. Presented at the 80 th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2001.

Scheurer, J (2001), Car-free housing in European cities. A survey of sustainable residential development projects. Doctoral thesis, Mourdoch University, Australia

Litman, T.A. (2009), Economic Value of Walkability, Victoria Transport Policy Intitute

Pucher, J. & Buehler, R. (2009), Cycling for a Few or for Everyone: The Importance of Social Justice in Cycling Policy, in World Transport Policy & Practice, vol. 15, no.1, p.57-64