Bike&PlaceAn Easy-to-Use Tool for

Designing Active, Place-Making Transportation Networks

Brian J. MortonCenter for Urban and Regional Studies

University of North CarolinaJune 28, 2017

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INSPIRATIONS

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Roger Geller’s Typology of Actual and Potential Cyclists• “Four Types of Cyclists”

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/264746

• Applies to• Adults

• Utilitarian – not recreational – transportation

1. Strong and fearless

2. Enthused and confident

3. Interested but concerned

4. No way no how

Inspirations

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Project’s Goal

For planners with basic GIS skills and no travel demand modeling experience…

A simple, customizable travel demand model that helps small town and city planners…

increase bicycle accessibility to heart-and-souldestinations…

taking into account the preferences of interested but concerned cyclists

Inspirations

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WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH Bike&Place

Houston (Mississippi) Design Exercise

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Heart-and-soul destination: Courthouse Square

Case study

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Interested but Concerned Cyclists

“They like riding a bicycle…and they would like to

ride more. But, they are afraid to ride….Very few of

these people regularly ride bicycles…[and they] will

not venture out onto the arterials to the major

commercial and employment destinations they

frequent.…They would ride if they felt safer on the

roadways—if cars were slower and less frequent, and

if there were more quiet streets with few cars and

paths without any cars at all.” (Geller, p. 3)

Inspirations

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Traffic Stress Criteria: Simplified, Impressionistic Approach• Spatial context

• Residential neighborhood: presumption of low stress

• Industrial district: presumption of high stress

• Posted speed

• Distance between cars/trucks and bicycles

• Traffic volume

• Bike lane

• On-street parking

Case study

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Scenario Assessments: Bicycle Accessibility to Heart-and-Soul Destination

• Current conditions network• < 2% of populated census blocks have bicycle access to

Courthouse Square

• High-interest, low traffic stress network• Low traffic stress on links near heart-and-soul destination

• 83% of populated census blocks have bicycle access to Courthouse Square

Case study

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Houston’s High and Low TrafficStress Networks in 3D

Case study

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ADAPTING Bike&Place TO YOUR LOCALE

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Data Needs Are Minimal

1. Roads shapefile

2. Population (census block) shapefile

3. Traffic stress ratings

Adaptation

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The Tools That You Need Are Readily Available• ArcMap

• ArcGlobe• 3D visualization of networks

• Nice to have but not essential

• Excel

• TRANUS• Simplified but sophisticated travel demand modeling platform

• Open source (http://www.tranus.com/tranus-english/download-install/)

• Houston case-study files (contact me – see last slide)

Adaptation

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Major Tasks• Create current-conditions network

• Create counterfactual “low traffic stress network”

• Create origin-destination table for trips from populated census blocks to heart-and-soul destination

• Define link types, travel modes, and trip category

• Import networks and O-D table into TRANUS

• Calibrate travel demand model’s parameters

• Create design scenario

• Assess current-conditions and design scenarios

Adaptation

18Adaptation

[https://stride.ce.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BikePlace_Report-2016-009S.pdf]

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Contact Information

Brian J. Morton, Ph.D.

Center for Urban and Regional Studies

University of North Carolina

Chapel Hill, NC

(919) 962-8847

bjmorton[at]unc.edu

Adaptation