Swedish traffic authorities are today faced with a difficult task: simultaneously promoting bicycle use and reducing traffic injuries. This paper reports the effects on motor vehicle speed and cyclists' attitudes of re-allocating road space for motor vehicles to bicycles by creating bicycle lanes. These were two of the indicators that were used in the research project. The project was designed to examine how bicycle lanes affect cyclist safety and the attractivity of cycling in Swedish urban traffic. In the evaluation, fourteen streets within built-up areas in Sweden were studied before and after bicycle lanes were introduced. The evaluation also included studies of accident statistics and behavioural and interactional patterns. Motor vehicle speeds were measured on midblock-locations and it was noted if there was a bicycle travelling next to the vehicle. Six hundred cyclists travelling on the streets were asked questions about the street environment and interaction with other road users. The hypotheses were: a) If motor vehicle speeds are generally lower after bicycle lanes have been installed this involves a safety improvement. However, the speed reducing effect of a cyclist next to the vehicle is also of interest for cyclists' safety; Before the bicycle lanes were introduced, the presence of a cyclist next to the vehicle had a speed reducing effect of 2 km/h on motor vehicles. b) If cyclists' attitudes are more positive after bicycle lanes have been installed (when controlling for characteristics of the cyclists before and after) this implies that the attractivity of cycling on the street has increased; Before the bicycle lanes were introduced, the streets were generally evaluated negatively.
Abstract