National Center for Sustainable Transportation

Many US cities aim to increase environmentally sustainable modes of transportation, such as cycling or public transit. However, the current built environment in many of these cities does not adequately support cyclists or public transit riders. Bicycle infrastructure can minimize cyclists’ exposure to high-speed automobile traffic and increase the actual and perceived safety of cycling. Bicycle infrastructure can also potentially improve connections to public transit stops and stations. However, planners lack the tools to effectively measure where bicycle infrastructure improvements will yield the best outcomes. New research from Georgia Tech addresses this problem by developing two new modeling tools, BikewaySim and TransitSim, to assess how bicycle infrastructure can affect cycling and public transit access. Using BikewaySim, the researchers modeled over 28,000 potential cycling trips, calculating the impacts of two proposed cycling infrastructure projects in Atlanta, Georgia. Using TransitSim, the researchers modeled combined cycling and transit trips from four distinct locations in Atlanta, Georgia. This brief summarizes the findings from that research.

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