RI DOT 2002 BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION USER SURVEY; DEVELOPING INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The purpose of this research project is to develop, analyze and disseminate a comprehensive bicycle user survey that will provide key insights into the factors that encourage and/or discourage bicycle use as an alternative travel mode in the state of Rhode Island. The only comprehensive bicycle user survey to date is the 1996 User Survey of the East Bay Bicycle Path conducted by the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) in cooperation with the Department of Urban Studies at Brown University. Currently, there is a growing need for this type of user survey data not only in Rhode Island, but throughout the United States. Bikeway projects included in this research project include, East Bay Bicycle Path, Washington Secondary (Cranston Bike Path), Blackstone River Bikeway, and the South County Bicycle Path. The survey will be conducted in two stages. The 2000 Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) & U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) publication, Bicycle and Pedestrian Data, Sources, Needs and Gaps, identifies the need for user preference and demand studies, which analyze the effects of facility design and other policies on user preferences and demand. As noted in this BTS report, "efforts to plan for bicycle and pedestrian travel are frequently hampered, however, by deficiencies in data on travel characteristics, facilities, safety, and user preferences." Since the 1996 user survey was completed RIDOT has constructed several new bikeway facilities. One of the objectives of this study will be to access the impact of RIDOT's efforts to increase bicycling as another form of transportation. This includes since 1997, the development and distribution of A Guide to Cycling in the Ocean State, that is revised bi-annually. This survey will provide useful data to determine the extent to which bike path usage has increased since the 1996 survey. While the vast majority of current bicycle path users may be utilizing these facilities for recreational purposes, it is important that transportation planners have accurate, readily available user data to determine the needs and/or obstacles to bicycle use for commuting purposes.