Shared Space and Bicyclists

Allison Duncan, Portland State University

Summary:

Shared space is a traffic calming technique and design concept.  The technique is relatively new, and the majority of existing research concerns pedestrians only.  This mixed methods study will be international in scope focusing on intersections in England.  The goal of this dissertation is to understand how cyclists perceive and travel through shared space intersections by observing cyclists as they traverse selected sites and control sites as well as intercepting and surveying those cyclists traveling through both types of sites.  Using video observations of six sites in three cities, three shared and three control intersections, an analysis of the paths taken by cyclists will look at the variation in the paths ridden through the control intersections as compared to the shared space intersections.  The survey addresses the perceptions, bicycling experience, demographics, and path and route preferences by cyclists at both shared space and control intersections. It is hypothesized that cyclist paths will not show much variation between shared space and control intersections.  I also hypothesize that certain groups may avoid riding through the shared space intersections due to their increased perception of risk.  These findings may indicate that shared space designs do not benefit cyclists as the design theory itself states. 

Project Details

Project Type:
Dissertation
Project Status:
Completed
End Date:
May 31,2015
UTC Grant Cycle:
Tier 1 Dissertation Fellowships Fall '14
UTC Funding:
$15,000