In tech news, researchers at University of Queensland will be developing a tool to assess the quality of the bike landscape.
Under a new High Impact Project grant funded by AURIN, the research team will produce a ‘bikeability assessment tool’, an automated tool that will allow users to evaluate the ‘bikeability’ of routes or areas all over Australia.
Some of the factors that will be considered when assessing bikeability include:
- Availability and quality of bicycle paths, lanes and other infrastructure
- Bicycle network and street connectivity
- Traffic volumes and speed
- Number of through lanes
- Traffic control signs and signals
- Bike rider safety
- Comfort and convenience
- Access to important destinations
- Aesthetics, green space and water
- Environmental factors
- Street scale design variables such as lane, shoulder and bicycle width, on-street parking, presence of curb, pavement condition
Overall, this is a big win for active transport design and planning, as the tool will assist in identifying how ‘bike-friendly’ our urban and natural environments are, and how we can optimize them for safe and enjoyable riding.
“Many people, even those sympathetic to cycling, dismiss cycling as a transportation mode. We believe cycling should be viewed as an integrated part of a multi-modal transport framework that can help us meet transport planners’ goals,” says lead researcher Dr Scott Lieske.
The bikeability assessment tool will be hosted by AURIN, which provides access to data and tools for researchers and policy makers across Australia.
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