Q. Hi there,
I am an avid bike commuter to work in Southern California. Plus, I’m also working on obtaining my master degree in Public Adminstration. As part of my degree, I am required to evaluate a pubic program/policy;  I selected bikway plans because the topic is dear to my heart.

However, I’m encountering some difficulties in locating scholarly journal articles regarding bikeway program evaluation/assessment/review. I am wondering if you can assist me with obtaining journal articles that deal with bikeway program evaluation/assessment/review.

 

Thank you for your time and assistance.
Kiet Nguyen

 

Hello Kiet–
You should also look into the FHWA Turner Fairbank R&D website. This page has an overview on their bike-related information:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/pedbiketrb2007.htm

You should also contact Ann Do at the FHWA, who knows a lot about their bike and pedestrian work. Her email address is: <ann.do@dot.gov>

In addition, you should should find some useful resources in the work of the Transportation
Research Board Bicycle Transportation Committee:
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/trbbike/

Hope this helps!  I’ve just sent messages out to several colleagues who are more involved in the research arena than I am. I’ll forward any responses that I receive.

Cheers!
John Williams

Jessica Roberts, Programs Manager at alta PLANNING + DESIGN in Portland, Oregon, suggested this resource:
http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/pathfinder.php

Shawn Turner wrote:
Hi Kiet – It sounds as though you want to evaluate the effects of a bikeway program. The first step is to decide what is the measure of effectiveness. That is, what are you trying to solve implementing bikeway programs?

There are at least 3 main measures of effectiveness that are used from the engineering perspective:

1. Evaluate the bikeway program using increases in bicycle-friendliness – look at changes in the bicycle compatibility index (BCI) or the bicycle level of service (BLOS)  that would result if the bikeway plan were to be implemented. The BCI and BLOS attempt to capture the “bicycle-friendliness” or the comfort level of most cyclists. You can find more on these methods by Googling their names.

2. Evaluate the bikeway program using expected safety improvements – there is a fair bit of literature about safety improvements of different types of bike facilities. Look at Table 1 in the main Memo and Appendix C in the attachments for some more references – these should get you started.

3. Evaluate the bikeway program using expected modal shifts from auto to bike – this is perhaps the most difficult and least understood. You might be able to find something by searching on terms bicycling latent demand, bicycling modal shift, bicycle tripmaking, etc.

Good luck on your project,

Shawn Turner, P.E.
Texas Transportation Institute
College Station, TX
http://tti.tamu.edu>http://tti.tamu.edu

Here’s a post that shows that, even if the NCBW staff doesn’t know the answer, we’re probably just one or two links removed from someone who does. Sharon asked about cycling in the Dayton area…

Hello!  Do you know where I can go, to find out what route to take to ride from home to work in the Southwest area of Ohio?

Thanks.

Sharon

Hi Sharon –

I don’t have any information on bicycling to work in Southwest Ohio, but am cc’ing this message to an old friend, Don Burrell, who is Senior Planner and Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator for the OKI
(Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana) Regional Council of Governments. If he can’t help you, he’s sure to
know who can.

As a separate message, I’ll send you a copy of Don’s “OKI Bicycle E-Info News”
newsletter.Cheers!
J

A. Sharon,
Dayton puts you outside of OKI’s planning area, but Dayton is more bike friendly for commuters and has a wonderful trail network. I will hand you off to Chuck Smith, a member of the Dayton Cycling Club and president of the Ohio Bicycle Federation.

You will find bike commuting resources from the Dayton club
<http://www.daytoncyclingclub.org/commuter.htm>http://www.daytoncyclingclub.org/commuter.htm
   and from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, our counterpart transportation planning agency for Dayton.
<http://www.mvrpc.org/>http://www.mvrpc.org/
Don Burrell, AICP, Senior Planner
Bicycle / Pedestrian Coordinator

A. Sharon,

On Markey Road, you are near the northern end of the Dayton River Corridor Bikeway. Pick up the Bikeway in the Dayton Heart Hospital parking lot, and ride south.  The Dayton River Corridor Bikeway (also known as the Great Miami Trail) will take you as far south as the Montgomery/Butler County border.

Chuck Smith
Chair, Ohio Bicycle Federation
www.ohiobike.org
We bring you:
1.  Share the Road License Plate
2.  Better Ohio Bicycling Law
3.  Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar

Laura Willis wrote with this question concerning bicycle rodeos.

Q. Hi, My name is Laura Willis and I am with LeRoy
Christian Church, LeRoy IL. We will
be hosting a bike rodeo to promote biking and
kids health. We were wondering if you might have
anything you could donate. Thanks Laura

A. Hi Laura–

Thanks for your note! Unfortunately, we are a
small not-for-profit organization and do not have
things that would make good prizes for a rodeo.
However, I’d suggest you visit the Adventure
Cycling Association’s website (www.adventurecycling.org) and check out their
bicycle rodeo guide. It has lots of useful tips
on how to make your rodeo more relevant to the
kinds of problems kids have while bicycling. And
it’s only $5 plus shipping. Here’s a link:
http://tinyurl.com/49yz2u

I should admit, though, that I was one of the
authors, so I might be biased!

Cheers!
J