From a transportation and community perspective, objectives of pedestrian and bicycle facility improvements have evolved to include numerous aspects of providing viable and safe active transportation options for all ages, abilities, and socioeconomic groups. Pedestrian and bicycle facilities appear overall to benefit the full spectrum of society perhaps more broadly than any other provision of transportation. A challenge in non-motorized transportation (NMT) benefit analysis is to adequately account for all the different forms in which pedestrian and bicycle facilities provide benefit. In this report, new as well as synthesized research is presented. This chapter examines pedestrian and bicyclist behavior and travel demand outcomes in a relatively broad sense. It covers traveler response to NMT facilities both in isolation and as part of the total urban fabric, along with the effects of associated programs and promotion. It looks not only at transportation outcomes, but also recreational and public health outcomes. This chapter focuses on the travel behavior and public health implications of pedestrian/bicycle areawide systems; NMT-link facilities such as sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and on-transit accommodation of bicycles; and node-specific facilities such as street-crossing treatments, bicycle parking, and showers. Discussion of the implications of pedestrian and bicycle 'friendly' neighborhoods, policies, programs, and promotion is also incorporated. (Author/publisher)
Abstract