The need for robust methods that can accurately measure bicycle and walking activity has long been recognized, particularly in relation to land use. Many planning agencies are trying to assess the potential for smart growth and other land use options to increase bicycling and walking and reduce motor vehicle use. Existing national data sources document a particular segment of bicycling or walking trips (e.g., U.S. Census Journey-to-Work data) or document all bicycling or walking trips at large-scale geography such as state or aggregations of metropolitan areas (e.g., the National Household Travel Survey or other household travel surveys). However, there was a lack of consistent methods to understand bicycling and walking activity, and relationships to demographic, social, and physical factors were not well understood. Consistent methods and credible data were needed to enhance local and regional planning to evaluate bicycle and pedestrian needs. NCHRP Project 08-78, “Estimating Bicycling and Walking for Planning and Project Development,” was conceived to fill this gap. NCHRP Project 08-78 addresses robust methods to accurately estimate bicycle and walking activity, both to account for the role of non-motorized travel in coordinated transportation/land use planning and to support design and prioritization of pedestrian and bicycle facilities and systems. The products of the research include a guidebook for practitioners on a range of methods for estimating bicycling and walking activity and CRP-CD-148 containing a GIS Walk Accessibility Model, spreadsheets, and the contractor’s final report, which documents the research and tools that operationalize the methods described in the guidebook. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting