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Cycling in cities

Understanding people, neighbourhoods, and infrastructure to promote an epidemic of change

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The Department of Health Care and Epidemiology of the University of British Columbia (UBC) is a post-secondary education and research facility conducting research on the determinants of health.

What are they doing?

The overall goal of this project is to provide data to facilitate evidence-based urban planning, cycling infrastructure development, and marketing of cycling to produce a substantial increase in cycling modal share in the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

The project design is based on an extensive review of the transportation, health, and urban planning literatures to identify previous studies of cycling rates and of factors thought to influence ridership. The information gathered in this research will feed into the Greater Vancouver long-range transportation plan (a 20-year blueprint for regional network development, education, promotion, and facility design) that will be completed in 2007. The research will be used to identify how best to allocate operational and capital resources to ensure that investments in infrastructure and promotional programs are effective in increasing cycling modal share.

The following are the specific objectives of the project:

  • To develop a survey instrument that will be used in this study, and that can be adapted for use in studies elsewhere in Canada;
  • To map neighbourhood characteristics, including new variables on "bikeability" and travel times that take into account factors that impede or facilitate bicycle travel;
  • To conduct population-based and targeted surveys in the Greater Vancouver Regional District that elicit information on personal characteristics, travel patterns and locations, as well as opinions about a broad range of factors that influence use of current cycling facilities and might change future cycling behaviour;
  • To communicate the results broadly to promote uptake by governments and other agencies that plan urban areas, fund and build cycling infrastructure, promote cycling, or conduct cycling education.

Where can you find more information?

University of BC Website - Cycling in Cities

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Date modified:
2010-02-03