Bicycle Network: Measure & Understand
Level of Service
Bicycle Network Victoria has been developed the Bicycle Level of Service Assessment Tool in conjunction with VicRoads to allow for the assessment of bicycle facilities. The assessment tool uses an accumulative points system to capture variations in facilities across the network. This in turn allows planners and engineers to better assess the quality of their network and then identify priorities for funding.
Measure your bike network
The Bicycle Level of Service Audit Tool is a process with which you can measure the quality of a bike facility, be it on or off road. This process was developed to meet the need of the VicRoads SmartRoads system but can also be used in any scenario to provide a greater understanding of the network from a transport perspective.
A Level of Service (LOS) can be determined for other modes relatively easily, mainly due to their facilities being mostly uniform and therefore projected throughput of people by these modes easy to calculate.
Bicycle facilities however are a different story. In order to get more people using bikes for transport the evidence shows that a quality network must be provided to be attractive for the wider community to feel comfortable in choosing the bike mode.
Inconsistency in quality, ranging from bike lanes disappearing when approaching intersections, poor call up time at signalised crossings, tight width of bike lanes, narrow paths or lack of separation will often result in low riding rates. The LOS can help identify the weakest link in a cycling route.
The LOS can therefore help the riding community, stakeholders and agencies:
- Quantifiably measure the quality of the network, both on and off road
- Help guide and better target investment