Abstract
The Danish
Road Directorate sponsored a study to develop methods for objectively quantifying
pedestrian and bicyclist stated satisfaction with road sections between
intersections. The results provide a measure of how well urban and rural roads
accommodate pedestrian and bicycle travel.
In order to
determine how existing traffic operations, geometric conditions, and other
variables affect pedestrians’ and bicyclists’ satisfaction, 407 randomly
selected Danes were shown video clips from 56 roadway segments filmed by a
pedestrian walking and a bicyclist riding along the road. Respondents rated
roadway segments on a six-point scale ranging from very dissatisfied to very
satisfied. This resulted in 7,724 pedestrian and 7,596 bicyclist ratings. Roadway
segments and video clips were described by 150 variables.
Pedestrian and
bicyclist satisfaction models were developed using cumulative logit regression
of ratings and variables. The models include variables, which relate significantly
(p ≤ 0.05) to the satisfaction
ratings. Motorized traffic volume and speed, urban land uses, rural landscapes,
type and width of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, number and width of drive
lanes, volumes of pedestrians, bicyclists and parked cars, and also presence of
median, trees and bus stops significantly influence the level of satisfaction.
Models return
percentage splits of the six levels of satisfaction. These splits are then transformed
into a level of service (LOS). The models provide traffic planners and others
the capability to rate roadways with respect to pedestrians’ and bicyclists’
satisfaction, and may be used in the process of evaluating existing roads,
designing new roads or redesigning existing roads.
Introduction
Over the years, the national Road Directorate and local Danish road
administrations have occasionally surveyed road users about their perceptions
and experiences, and attempted to identify connections between road conditions
and user perceptions. However, none of methodologies developed to describe
pedestrian and bicycle level of service (LOS) or to offset priorities for
pedestrian and bicycle facility construction has been widely accepted. The
objective of this study was to develop a rigorous methodology that would
systematically describe pedestrians and bicyclists experienced LOS on roadway
segments, i.e. road sections between intersections.
Over the past
decade, some American studies have been undertaken in order to develop
systematic means of measuring pedestrians and bicyclists experienced LOS (1-6). Even though these studies use
various study designs, model development techniques and LOS criteria, the
produced models each have a high validity. These studies provided a solid methodological
base for the Danish study.
Since these studies
were based on an American context, it was important to develop models taking
Danish conditions into consideration. Some important differences are that Danes
walk and cycle more than Americans, the presence of pedestrian and bicycle
facilities are more common in Denmark, and the design of some of these
facilities are different compared to facilities in the United States of
America. The paper includes a comparison of the Danish and American models.