From an environmental perspective, a reduction in motor traffic would be desirable. In urban regions, this could be achieved by increasing cycling as a means of personal travel. Improved winter maintenance of cycleways could lead to more winter cyclists. In this paper, the results of a Swedish PhD project, with the purpose of studying the effects of winter road maintenance on cycling, will be summarised. Included in the paper are the results from a literature review focusing on winter maintenance of cycleways, an introductory questionnaire survey to improve the knowledge about travel behaviour during winter, and a field study to see whether it was possible to attain an improved service level. Focus is set on the field study where "new" equipment for snow clearance and de-icing of cycleways was tested. Results are presented indicating that there seems to be a prevailing discontent among the public concerning winter maintenance of cycleways, and that better winter maintenance could lead to increased cycling. Although slippery surfaces are of great importance for the safety of cyclists, cycleways not cleared from snow seem to be more important for the mode choice. The results presented from the field study will show that a test method using a broom for snow clearance and brine for de-icing, provided a higher maintenance service level than methods normally used on cycleways. (Author/publisher)
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