Evaluation and Optimization Design of Coastal Cycling Environment Based on Importance Performance Analysis

The cycling activity features green, low-carbon, energy-saving, and zero-emission characteristics, it is becoming a popular leisure activity in people's daily lives. Compared with the riding lanes within the city, coastal roads are more attractive to cyclists. However, there is less research regarding the coastal riding environment, and it was important to investigate the attitudes of cyclists toward the existing coastal lanes. This study evaluated and optimized coastal cycling environment in Qingdao city, China. Firstly, a questionnaire survey was carried out, 22 elements related to evaluation of cycling environment were selected, focusing on the basic information of cyclists, and their attitudes to the importance and satisfaction of evaluation elements. Secondly, we applied the Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) to obtain the coastal road environmental elements that needed to be prioritized for improving cycling conditions. Results found that there existed great differences in the lighting conditions of the road section, most of the factors that fell within the interval of high importance-low satisfaction, which was highly related to security, the importance of parking facilities was relatively high. To promote the popularity of bicycle ride along the coastal roads, it is essential to pay attention to improving cycling safety at the design stage.

Automated summary

This study evaluated and optimized the coastal cycling environment in Qingdao city, China. A questionnaire survey was carried out to assess the importance and satisfaction of cyclists regarding various elements related to the cycling environment. Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) was used to prioritize the coastal road environmental elements that needed improvement. The results indicated that there were significant differences in lighting conditions along the road section and most factors fell within the high importance-low satisfaction range, highlighting the importance of addressing cycling safety during the design stage.