CODY, Katherine Ann - 1979

Route Choice Criteria of Bicycle Commuters in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Increased bicycle traffic on urban road networks has heightened the disharmony which exists between bicyclists and motorists who share the same roads. It is felt that if an inexpensive yet viable means of establishing bicycle routes could be devised, this lack of harmony would be meliorated.

An important aspect which should be considered in the planning of successful bicycle routes is the criteria with which bicyclists choose their routes. This paper attempts to devise a method whereby the factors which are considered by bicyclists in their route choice are valued. With these, a least-cost route from among several actually used by bicyclists in peninsular Halifax is sought.

It may be possible to decrease the effort and expense of bicycle route design if components of successful models already in use for motorised traffic could be extracted and modified by planners of bicycle infrastructure. A prerequisite would require certain parallels in the route choice criteria of both bicyclists and motorists. The methodology devised by the present research may be a preliminary stage for this tactic.