A concern raised by some motorists in relation to the presence of bicycles on urban roads without bicycle lanes, discussed in part of the traffic literature, is that cyclists will slow down motorized vehicles and therefore create congestion. This research answers this question: do bicycles reduce passenger car travel speeds on urban roads without bicycle lanes? To answer this question, a detailed comparative analysis of the travel speeds of passenger car (class two vehicles) on lower volume urban roads without bicycle lanes is presented. Speed distributions, the mean, and the 50th and 85th percentile speeds for two scenarios were examined: (i) a passenger car that was preceded by a bicycle and (ii) a passenger car that was preceded by another passenger car. Peak hour traffic and 24-h traffic speeds were analyzed using t-tests and confidence intervals. Although a few statistically significant differences between scenarios (i) and (ii) were found, the actual speed differences were generally in the order of 1 mph or less. Therefore, differences in class two (motorized passenger) vehicle speeds with and without cyclists were found to be negligible from a practical perspective.


    Access

    Download

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Evidence from Urban Roads without Bicycle Lanes on the Impact of Bicycle Traffic on Passenger Car Travel Speeds


    Additional title:

    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board




    Publication date :

    2020-06-06




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Empirical Study of the Impacts of Bicycles on Passenger Car Speeds on Urban Roads without Bicycle Lanes

    Schaefer, Jaclyn S. / Figliozzi, Miguel A. / Unnikrishnan, Avinash | Transportation Research Record | 2021


    Required Widths of Paths, Lanes, Roads and Streets for Bicycle Traffic

    Botma, H. / Nottinghamshire County Council | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993



    Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Operations on Wide Curb Lanes, Bicycle Lanes, and Paved Shoulders

    Harkey, D. L. / Stewart, J. R. / American Society of Civil Engineers | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997