Bicycling for transportation purposes has become a popular activity across a wide range of demographic groups, ages, and fitness levels. To design safe roadways and intersections it is necessary to understand and quantifydistribution of speeds, accelerations, and reaction times among the population of cyclists. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of gender on commuter cyclists’ intersection crossing times. Data collection took place during peak commuting hours in winter and summer months at two intersections in Portland, Oregon, with consistent commuter bicycle traffic. Statistical analyses were performed on both the aggregated and disaggregated data samples to investigate the effects of gender and intersection grade on cyclists’ crossing times. Categorical and parametric tests found statistically significant differences for male-female groups. Gender has an impact on the crossing times of cyclists traveling uphill, as indicated bythe 15th percentile crossing times. These finding have important implications for traffic signal design and safety since slower cyclists may require longer clearance times during signal phase changes and longer minimum green and yellow times at demand-actuated signals.
Abstract