Pedal the Old Pueblo: A Naturalistic Study on Bicycling in Tucson, AZ

Concerns for the environment and personal health have made bicycling an increasingly popular mode of transportation in the US. Understanding how bicyclists move through the built environment is critical to designing infrastructure that promotes safe riding. Tucson is a prime location to study cyclist behavior because of the large cycling community, good weather, and significant investments made in cycling infrastructure. This study uses Tucson as a case to ask: (1) How do these different types of riders interact with the built environment? (2) Where are the problem areas with motorists for different types of riders? Moreover, (3) How can this study be designed to be useful to the city transportation planning department to improve on the 5 E’s, Engineering; Education; Encouragement; Enforcement; and Evaluation & Planning, of bicycle planning? These questions will be answered through analysis of global positioning system (GPS) files, video recordings from rides, Strava data, observations, surveys, and interviews with stakeholders. The outcomes of the study will address the gap in understanding how cyclists interact with the built environment while promoting collaboration with the City of Tucson and advocating for infrastructure improvements. Funds will be used to purchase the GPS devices, video devices, a limited Strava dataset, and possibly for a student research assistant to review and code video footage.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $15000
• Contract Numbers:

  NITC-1276

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  TREC at Portland State University

  1900 SW Fourth Ave, Suite 175
  P.O. Box 751
  Portland, Oregon  United States  97201
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Arizona

  College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture
  1040 N. Olive Road
  Tucson, Arizona  United States  85719
• Principal Investigators:

  Iuliano, Joseph

• Start Date: 20190401
• Expected Completion Date: 20201201
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic data collection systems; Bicycling; Built environment; Case studies; Cyclists; Global Positioning System; Stakeholders; Surveys; Video
• Identifier Terms: Strava (Computer software)
• Geographic Terms: Tucson (Arizona)
• Subject Areas: Design; Environment; Pedestrians and Bicyclists;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01725073
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Institute for Transportation and Communities
• Contract Numbers: NITC-1276
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Dec 13 2019 6:00PM