A Tool for Baton Rouge, Louisiana by the City-Parish Planning Commission APT 206 Function Code: S207 Title: Community Bikeability Tool APA s 2012 National Planning Conference April 15, 2012 Presented by: Quang Tran
Initiative Bikeability Index BikeBR Demonstration Lessons Learned Mayor-President Melvin Kip Holden 2
Mayor-President s Healthy City Initiative Raise awareness of obesity problem and services available Increase utilization of available resources to promote healthy eating and active living in Baton Rouge Encourage alternative modes of travel Plan and build paths for commuting and recreation Provide safe and convenient facilities 3
FUTUREBR Comprehensive Plan Strategy During the public planning process residents expressed significant support for expanding the range of transportation options; Development impacts may occur indirectly through programs that reduce travel demand and encourage a variety of transportation options; The Vision emphasizes pedestrian and bicycle connections to regional assets, employment centers, and existing neighborhoods. 4
HealthyBR Bike Facility Improvements Program 5
Baton Rouge City Park Before After 6
Baton Rouge Beach Before After 7
Mississippi River Levee Trail Before After 8
Baton Rouge Advocacy for Safe Streets (BRASS) Survey Results What prevents you from biking? Distance and routing (24.2%) Availability of bicycle facilities (22.5%) Weather conditions (20.2%) Road conditions (14.5%) How far are you willing to ride? More than 5 miles (64.3%) MRT Trailhead at LSU 9
Solution Develop Web-based mapping application Address HealthyBR initiative Open source/free Accessibility Internet User-friendly intuitive Public participation engaging Baton Rouge Bike Day 10
Data Requirements Bikeability Index Bicycle Facilities Destinations Baton Rouge Base Map 11
Bikeability Index Methodology Survey Available online Distributed at bike events and Earth Day 132 responses SPSS stats package factor analysis Analyzed 20 built environment variables Rated variables 1 5 Ancillary GIS data 306 Census block groups Existing land use Community Bikeability Survey 12
Bikeability Index Top Factors Available bicycle facilities Street connectivity Residential density Weighting Factors z-value (-1 to 1) 3.08 Bicycle Facilities 0.78 1.92 Street Connectivity (- 0.44) 1.26 Residential Density (- 0.80) CT 28, BG 4 Bikeability index 0.55 BI 3.08 z bicycle facilities 1.92 z street connectivity 1. residential density 26 13
BikeBR Interactive Mapping Application Development Google Maps, Directions, and Forms API (application programming interface) JavaScript GIS (geographic information system) JavaScript XML and KML 14
BikeBR Route Planning Push pins for start and end points Google street data Modified directions algorithm to optimize for bicycling Includes turn-by-turn directions with total distance calculation Bicycle-friendly Routing 15
BikeBR Places of Interest Parks and Recreation Areas Bike Service Shops Bus Routes Public Facilities Retail and Restaurants Available Amenities 16
BikeBR Public Participation Survey form Route assessments Table output GIS input 17
www.brgov.com/bikebr 18
Lessons Learned Bikeability index variables Utilize 2010 Census block data Qualify and quantify scenic areas Refresh factor analysis Future Versions Public participation Convert HTML styles to CSS Additional street attributes Mobile version 19
Quang Tran, GIS Analyst www.brgov.com/bikebr www.brgov.com/dept/planning www.healthybr.com Mississippi River Levee Trail 20