8.2 - Travel impacts

Demand

Factors influencing demand for walking and cycling include:

• availability of facilities
• type and quality of facility including cycle parking, signage and safety of use
• location and route length
• population served by the facilities
• education and marketing.

Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between the number of facilities that are provided and the percentage of people that use cycling for commuting purposes. It has also been observed that, in addition to having cycling facilities, they must connect appropriate origins and destinations to encourage cycling as an alternative commuting mode.

Reference 3 describes a stated preference methodology and study to identify preferences for different types of cycling facilities. The study determined the additional time that cyclists would spend travelling on each type of facility (the incremental benefit of that type of facility) compared with a base case of 20 minutes of travel in-traffic with parking.

Evaluators are required to make realistic estimates of the demand for a new or improved facility, particularly the number of new pedestrians or cyclists generated by a project. Reference 2 provides methods for estimating cycle demand.

Walking distances

Statistics on walking are provided in reference 1. The average pedestrian trip length is estimated at one km and projects that involve model shift need to be careful not to claim unrealistic walking distances.

Cycling distances

Statistics on cycling are provided in reference 1. The average cycle trip length is estimated at three km. This applies equally to new and existing users.