Bicycling is becoming more and more used
as a way of commuting in a person’s average day. It is also a popular way for
college students and faculty to get around on their campus, but it varies by
the type and size of the community.
With a rise in
bicycling on campuses there comes a rise in bicycle collisions with vehicles,
pedestrians, and other bicycles. There has been
extensive research studying bicycle and pedestrian crashes. However, most of
this research involves crashes with vehicles which are more common. While some aspects
of this research can be applied to non-motorized paths, there is a lack of
research strictly focusing on only bicycles and pedestrians.
This study aimed to
fill this knowledge gap by developing a model to identify locations on roads
and paths (hotspots) on college campuses that are likely to have a bicycle
collision and predict the likelihood of a serious bicycle crash on a
non-motorized path based on the characteristics of the path. This study
identified those interactions between bicyclists and pedestrians on
non-motorized paths on a suburban college campus in Newark, USA.
Findings suggest
that pedestrian density of a path is a major factor in the maximum speed
bicyclists can achieve. The wider the path is, the higher the maximum speed is
that a bicyclist can obtain. This is because a wider path width decreases the
pedestrian density. The grade of the path has little effect on bicycle speeds.
The results of the models were displayed on a GIS map that is visually
appealing to a viewer. The paths were color coded based on their level of
safety, so it is easy to observe problematic areas of the network.
In short, this
technique can be applied to the entire campus network of non-motorized paths to
study the whole system. This can then be used by planners and designers to
identify areas that need upgrading and improve the overall safety of the
non-motorized path system.
Article by Zachary
Nerwinski, et al, from University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Full access: http://mrw.so/59GMox
评论
发表评论