Bikeway Provision and Bicycle Commuting: City-Level Empirical Findings from the US

The growing worldwide awareness of the significant benefits of bicycling as an urban transport mode has aroused great interest in exploring the role that bikeways play in promoting utilitarian bicycling. However, few studies assess the contribution of citywide bikeway provision with the inclusion of all facility types and differentiation of facility utilities. This study provides new evidence by evaluating the collective effects of bikeway kilometers per square kilometer, bikeway kilometers per 10,000 population, and low-stress bikeway proportion on the bicycle-commuting share in 28 US cities between 2005 and 2017. Using linear panel regression models, we found that the expansion of citywide bikeway infrastructure positively influences the share of commute trips by bicycle. The results also indicated that the proportion of low-stress bikeways has a stronger impact on the bicycling-to-work share than bikeway kilometers per 10,000 population, while the impact of bikeway kilometers per square kilometer ranks last. These findings may aid policy makers and planners in formulating sound city-level bikeway policies favoring sustainable urban transportation scenarios.

Automated summary

This study explores the impact of different types of bikeways on the share of bicycle commuting in urban areas. The expansion of citywide bikeway infrastructure was found to have a positive influence on promoting bicycle commute trips. Low-stress bikeway proportion was shown to have a stronger impact on bicycle commute share than bikeway length per 10,000 population, providing valuable insights for policymakers and planners in promoting sustainable urban transportation.