Sustainable transport safety : a study on predicting cyclists' perception of safety and comfort
department or school: Applied Science, Faculty of
department or school: Engineering, School of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Lee, Adam
issued: 2020-08-14T20:43:54Z
issued: 2020
related degree: Master of Applied Science - MASc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Cycling as a method of transportation offers benefits to the individual and to the society as a whole. It promotes a healthy lifestyle, is economically cost effective, and can reduce traffic congestion, noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the main barriers that prevent individuals from cycling as a primary mode of transportation are the perceived discomfort and increased risk that one feels when using cycling infrastructure. In order to help promote cycling, it is important to be able to quantify and predict a cyclistâs perception of existing and proposed cycling infrastructure. This study develops and proposes a statistical model that predicts cyclist perceptions. The model was developed using a bicycle outfitted with sensors which would measure the speed, proximity and size of adjacent motor vehicle traffic. 105 volunteer cyclist participants completed a survey where they provided demographic information and their opinions on cycling infrastructure. The participants then rode four predetermined cycling routes, indicating their perceived comfort and safety after each ride. Using the demographic information, the opinions of the participants, their reported perceptions of comfort and safety as well as the data collected from the sensors a statistical model was fitted. The results indicated that there are two levels of cyclists within the participant population (level 1 and level 2), with level 2 being the more confident group. Assessing the opinions of the participants was the best way to determine their level. It was measured that a 2.1 m bicycle lane gave significantly improved levels of comfort and safety, as was separation from motor vehicle traffic or the lack thereof. Safety and comfort were discovered to be similar but not identical measures of cyclist wellbeing and a new variable named âwellnessâ was proposed to measure the overall perceived wellbeing of a cyclist on a cycling route. The level 2 cyclist group consistently reported feeling hi…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/75543
note: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SAFETY: A STUDY ON PREDICTING CYCLISTSâ PERCEPTION OF SAFETY AND COMFORT by Adam Lee B.A.Sc., The University of British Columbia, 2012 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Civil Engineering) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) August 2020 © Adam Lee, 2020 i The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SAFETY: A STUDY ON PREDICTING CYCLISTSâ PERCEPTION OF SAFETY AND COMFORT Submitted by Adam Lee in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Applied Science. Dr. Gordon Lovegrove, School of Engineering Supervisor Dr. Rehan Sadiq, School of Engineering Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Bernard Momer, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Sylvia Esterby, Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences University Examiner ii Abstract Cycling as a method of transportation offers benefits to the individual and to the society as a whole. It promotes a healthy lifestyle, is economically cost effective, and can reduce traffic congestion, noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the main barriers that prevent individuals from cycling as a primary mode of transportation are the perceived discomfort and increased risk that one feels when using cycling infrastructure. In order to help promote cycling, it is important to be able to quantify and predict a cyclistâs perception of existing and proposed cycling infrastructure. This study develops and proposes a statistical model that predicts cyclist perceptions. The model was developed using a bicycle outfitted with sensors which would measure the speed, proximity and size of adjacent motor vehicle traffic. 105 volunteer cyclist participants completed a survey where they provided demographic informati…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2020-09
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0392786
language: eng
degree discipline: Civil Engineering
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/75543