Regina Bikeways Needs Assessment Study: Measuring the value of the bikeway infrastructure Norma Moores, P.Eng. ProWalk/ProBike 2008
Regina Bikeway Needs Assessment Study To measure use of the on-road bikeways and the value of planned bikeways to the community Bicycle count program Bikeway audit Increasing Cycling in Regina workshop Benefit-cost analysis
Where s Regina? You are here Population 190,000 Sunniest capital city in Canada
Existing Bikeways McCarthy Blvd. Wasana Creek Assiniboine Ave. 9.3 km of existing bikeways Wascana Parkway
User Counts McCarthy/North Storm Channel Path Saskatchewan/Broad McIntyre/Smith at College Assiniboine/Pilot Butte Creek Path Count locations Wascana Parkway/ University
2005 User Counts Manual cyclists, pedestrians, others Tuesday and Wednesday 4 to 7 PM Saturday Noon to 2 PM 13 to 19 C, partly cloudy, light breeze Observed: helmet use adult or youth rider cyclist riding on sidewalk cyclist riding wrong-way
2005 User Counts City of Regina strike - no transit service UBC cycling modal share 50% higher in 2001 during Vancouver transit strike
2005 User Count Results Location Two-way, 3-hour Weekday Volumes Two way, 2-hour Saturday Volumes On-Road Bikeways 40 to 120 20 to 30 Roadways without Bikeways 10 to 80 n/a Trails (all users) 50 to 70 10 to 60 Calculated Cycling Mode Share 1.8%
Comparison with Other Communities 2001 Census Census Metropolitan Area Population Cycling Mode Share of Work Trips Saskatoon, SK 225,900 2.5 Kingston, ON 146,800 2.2 Trois Rivieres, PQ 137,500 1.5 Regina, SK 192,800 1.4 Thunder Bay, ON 122,000 1.0 Abbotsford, BC 147,400 0.9 Chicoutimi-Jonquiere, PQ 154,400 0.8 Sherbrooke, PQ 153,800 0.8 Greater Sudbury, ON 155,600 0.4 Saint John, NB 122,700 0.4 Saint John s, NL 172,900 0.1 Group Mean 1.1
Comparison with Other Communities 1200 1000 800 1031 2.5 912 922 934 857 824 769 689 702 1099 2.2 600 519 1.5 1.4 400 1 0.9 0.8 0.8 200 0.4 0.4 0 0.1 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Thunder Bay, ON Saint John, NB Chicoutimi-Jonquiere, PQ Sherbrooke, PQ Saskatoon, SK Greater Sudbury, ON Regina, SK Abbotsford, BC Trois Rivieres, PQ Kingston, ON Degree Days above 10 degrees C Cycling Modal Split (of Work Trips)
Riding Location Roads with Bikeways Wrong Way 8% With Traffic 68% On Sidewalk 21%
Riding Location Roads without Bikeways With Traffic 38% Wrong Way 3% On Sidewalk 59%
Bikeway Benefit-Cost Analysis The NCHRP Guidelines for Analysis of Investment in Bicycle Facilities (Report 552, 2006)
www.bicyclinginfo.org/bikecost
Bikeway Benefit-Cost Analysis
Bikeway Capital and Operating Costs Project planning, design, administration and inspection Roadway construction, structures and equipment Contingency Annual maintenance and operations 2006 local costs in Regina
Daily Cycling Demand Existing cyclists that will shift to the new bikeway New cyclists induced by the new facility
Likelihood of Bicycling Urban residents more likely to bicycle if they live within 1,600 m of a bikeway Bikeway 400 m buffer, L 400m =2.04 800 m buffer, L 800m =1.54 1,600 m buffer, L 1,600m =1.21
Daily Cycling Demand City of Regina s 2001 Neighbourhood Profiles Low, moderate and high rates of existing and induced cycling Used low rates only, consistent with low, overall City bicycle commute share of 1.4%
Economic Benefits Health: annual per capita cost savings of physical activity Saskatchewan $2.1 B health care costs attributed to inactivity 30 M people $80/new cyclist
Recreation: annual value of recreation to non-commuter cyclists Economic Benefits US $10/hour Regina recreational cyclists use facility 5 months a year, one day a week
Economic Benefits Mobility: annual value of the bikeway to commuter cyclists Travel 20 mins. more to use trail Travel 18 mins. more to use bike lane/no parking, Travel 16 mins. more to use bike lane with parking $15/hour Regina commuter cyclists use facility 6 months a year, 5 days a week
Planned Bikeways 7 3 17 7 1 22.4 km of planned bikeways 8 Wasana Creek 6 4 B/C=5 7 5
Bikeway Benefit-Cost Analysis The annual health, recreation and mobility benefits are five times greater than the annual implementation and operating costs
Bikeway Benefit-Cost Analysis Estimated annual cycling demand for new bikeways: Existing New Total Bike Commuters 2,500 4,500 7,000 Adult Cyclists 5,000 9,000 14,000 Youth Cyclists 3,300 6,000 9,300 Total 10,800 19,500 30,300
Bikeway Benefit-Cost Analysis Benefit-Cost Model does not account for: Changes to safety of cyclists and motorists Effect of cycling on air quality Effect of cycling on quality of life and community cohesion Which populations are more inclined to bicycle
Additional Effects of Expansion Each mile of bikeway [pathways and bike lanes] per 100,000 residents increases bicycle commuting 0.075%, all else being equal (Nelson and Allen, "If You Build Them, Commuters Will Use Them; Cross-Sectional Analysis of Commuters and Bicycle Facilities," TRR 1578, 1997, pp. 79-83) Implementing the new bikeways would result in more than doubling of the modal split to ~ 3.2%
Norma V. Moores, P.Eng. IBI Group tel: 905.546.1010 ext. 2106 email: norma.moores@ibigroup.com ProWalk/ProBike 2008 For More Information