This guide presents a practical planning model for bicycle transportation in cities, suburbs and small towns. It focuses on the use of networks of specialized bicycle facilities and bicycle friendly zones to support and promote the use of bicycles for transportation. The potential of using bicycle roadway networks in relationship to land use is discussed in terms of using them to make a civic contribution to the form of the city beyond transportation function. A model classification system for bicycle facilities is presented that is similar to the "functional classification of streets" for motor vehicle roadways. Bicycle Expressways, Bicycle Boulevards and Bicycle Byways are introduced and discussed as specific types of bicycle roadways. Detailed planning parameters are recommended for assembling the different types of bicycle facilities into integrated systems to support bicycle use for utilitarian transportation. Planning guidelines for bicycle friendly zones are presented, along with a step-by-step process that describes how communities can plan for bicycle transportation. Planning and design considerations that are important to the success of a bicycle transportation system are also discussed. These considerations include the needs of cyclists, skill levels, personal safety issues, system legibility and traffic calming techniques. This guidebook is intended for use by professional planners, designers and engineers, neighborhood groups, bicycle advocates and community decision makers.
This project provides a statistically defensible estimate of bicycle-miles of travel (BMT) for at least a substantial portion of the Twin Cities region and assesses the feasibility of monitoring bicycle volumes using sampling methods similar to those used to monitor motor vehicle traffic. Researchers used an ArcView database of the Twin Cities street system for the initial sampling frame and extended the database by manually adding information about average annual daily traffic volumes and about on- and off-road bicycle facilities. A stratified random sample of roadways links in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota counties was drawn, and during the months of May through June and August through October 1998, the daytime bicycle volume for one day at each sampled site was obtained using time-lapse video. Researchers then used Cochrane's combined estimator to compute an estimate of average daytime BMT for the study area. Findings show that monitoring bicycle miles of travel using methods similar to those employed for vehicle miles of travel is now technically feasible in the Twin Cities region where several permanent counters on bicycle trails provide a rudimentary continuous count element. A video-based approach appears to be more accurate and less demanding of personnel than is on-site manual counting.
