alternative transportation, sustainable transportation, bicycle commuting, urban design and policy
Places like Copenhagen did not become cycling cities overnight—it would have been city that was on the path towards auto-dependency if the city did not take gradual steps in making it harder to drive a car, and more efficient to ride a bike. Thus, for cities to make cycling safe, convenient, attractive, and possible to everyone, they need to take an aggressive and proactive stance on bike policy. However, aside from instilling safety regulations and infrastructure improvements, cycling can only be feasible if the future growth and expansion of cities is compact, and mixed-use developments that can “generate shorter trip distances, which are more readily covered by bicycle” (Pucher, et al, 2009). For instance, considering cities like Stockholm and Copenhagen, a 2.5 km bike ride could easily get an individual from home to work or to the grocery store . La Jolla is nowhere near a community of compact-mixed use development, and far from becoming a bicycle-friendly city such as Davis and its European counterparts. It is fact that La Jolla will never become Copenhagen—but what this research aims to achieve is to show that there are steps the community can take to incrementally encourage pro-bike behaviors such as gradually reducing the parking allotted to cars and changing the design of the streets to make biking more attractive. The key is a strong transportation infrastructure and making sure that people are closer to the things they need; it is by accomplishing this that people will be more inclined to travel in a more ecologically healthy manner and naturally use the car less.
1. Beatley, Timothy (2000). Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities. Chapter 5: Taming the Auto: The Promise of Car-Free Cities. Island Press. P. 137-165
2. City of Cyclists (2009). “Copenhagen bicycle life”. City of Copenhagen Technical and Environmental Administration. Pamphlet.
3. Daugaard, Thomas (2001). Chapter 5: Communication and Campaigns. Collection of Cycle Concepts. Danish Ministry of Transportation. http://www.vejdirektoratet.dk/pdf/cykelrapport/029-040Chapter05.pdf 14 October 2010.
4. Pucher, John and Buehler, Ralph (2008) ‘Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany’, Transport Reviews, 28:4, 495-528. http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Irresistible.pdf. 15 October 2010.
5. Walker, I. (2007) Drivers overtaking bicyclists: objective data on the effects of riding position, helmet use, vehicle type, and apparent gender, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 39, pp. 417–425.
“No Ridiculous Car Trips”—http://vimeo.com/15329560
UCSD’s Resources for Bicyclists—http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/commuting/bicyclists/index.html
Building Better Bicycle Cultures (Copenhagen’s Mikael Colville-Andersen’s Blog)—http://www.copenhagenize.com
This proposal outlines how many cities in Northern European have adopted innovative tactics to foster an inviting cycling community. The focus of this research is to identify how these European cities have made cycling a safe, practical and convenient mode of personal transportation, as well as to understand how these pro-bike policies and programs work to increase bicycle ridership. Among the various conveniences of bicycle activity, the focus regards utility cycling—bicycling for transportation purposes rather than for recreational sport and fitness. The study will involve considerable discussion regarding the success of these cycling measures and whether any of these ideas are transferable to university towns such as Davis and La Jolla. Part of the answer in creating safer bike routes lies in a broad understanding of the differences in land use, government regulation, resource laws, and cultural differences. Evidence is based on a culmination of findings from extensive observations, personal experiences, interviews and encounters along my travels around Northern Europe, and findings from literature and research online. This study will contribute to literature on transportation planning in the hope of creating more bicycle-friendly cities.
This purpose of this study is to evaluate how many cities in Northern European have adopted innovative tactics to foster an inviting cycling community and how transferrable these approaches are to college campuses. Current research reveals that these European cities have made cycling an effective mode of personal transportation through pro-bike policies, strong bicycle infrastructure, and programs that work to increase ridership. Among the various conveniences of bicycle activity, the focus regards utility cycling—bicycling for transportation purposes rather than for recreational sport and fitness. Using UCSD as a case study, this research involved discussion regarding the success of such European cycling measures and how these ideas have been or could be applied around campus. Evidence is based on a culmination of extensive observations, personal experiences, interviews and encounters along my travels around Northern Europe and as an undergraduate attending UCSD. Over the course of this project, the key to encouraging more ridership around campus is a strong transportation infrastructure that tackles and reinforces the safety, convenience and attractiveness of cycling. This research will contribute to the literature on sustainable transportation planning in the hope of creating stronger bicycle communities. It offers a set of guidelines and suggestions for UCSD to consider when planning for a more bicycle-friendly campus.
This purpose of this study is to evaluate how many cities in Northern European have adopted innovative tactics to foster an inviting cycling community and how transferrable these approaches are to college campuses. Current research reveals that these European cities have made cycling an effective mode of personal transportation through pro-bike policies, strong bicycle infrastructure, and programs that work to increase ridership. Using UC San Diego as a case study, this research involved discussion regarding the success of such European cycling measures and how these ideas have been or could affect the modal choices behind the university population. After comparing the bikability audits performed at UC Davis and UCSD, a number of factors contribute to the current cycling behaviors at UCSD. Among them are the distance to services, network layout, topography, width of streets and bike lanes, bike facilities, and modal-split options. Apart from the actual and seeming limitations at UCSD, modal choice is also strongly influenced by one’s perceptions. People are well aware of the problems of increased traffic caused by motorized vehicles, and have partially accepted that the issue needs to be treated. It is about influencing the general public’s view that the bicycle is a viable alternative for the car, and at the same time, showing that cycling is beneficial both to the riders and for society. Overall, UCSD assures that a high percentage of the population will be comprised of young adults that are physically able to integrate cycling into their daily behaviors. There is already strong reason to invest appropriately in bike infrastructure at UCSD—it has a population well-suited for cycling and an environment that has the potential to foster this activity.
1. Observational study of the physical infrastructure that has been implemented for bikes around the campuses: In order to determine how to improve bikability around UCSD, I intend to do a comparison of the existing physical infrastructure in UC Davis and UCSD. This observational study will provide a good indicator as to why there are stark differences in ridership among students who bike to school, work, and leisure amongst both universities. This checklist determines how the city of Davis reinforces the safety, convenience and attractiveness of cycling for its students, and how these practices can be transferred to UCSD.
2. Questionnaires/Surveys on how cycling can be improved around UCSD: The surveys are useful in measuring people’s attitudes, views, abilities, and opinions on the existing cycling infrastructure and behaviors. Although these surveys are not intended to go into depth, they will be conducted in the hope of understanding the preferences, opinions and suggestions on how to improve the ridership around campus.
3. Bikability audit to determine how well the campus and its surroundings functions for bicycle use: This study will take a first-hand look at the existing cycling infrastructure such as where the safety hazards tend to occur and where special investments and designs could be implemented to make cycling more safe, attractive, and feasible. Aside from biking to campus, the bikability audit provides an extraneous study to determine what other land uses, services, goods and day-to-day essential needs and activities are available in close proximity.
The spatial component of my project consists of looking and comparing my biking experiences around the campuses of UC Davis and UCSD. I created a checklist that was used to access how Davis’ existing cycling infrastructure supports bicycle activity and how to make it more attractive at San Diego. After comparing the bikability audits performed at UC Davis and UCSD, a number of factors contribute to the current cycling behaviors at UCSD. Among them are the distance to services, network layout, topography, width of streets and bike lanes, bike facilities, and modal-split options.
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