Build it and they will cycle: Causal evidence from the downtown Vancouver Comox Greenway

Lawrence D. Frank, Andy Hong and Victor Douglas Ngo

Transport Policy, 2021, vol. 105, issue C, 1-11

Abstract: This study evaluated changes in cycling trips before and after the construction of an urban greenway in Vancouver, Canada. Urban cycling has gained in popularity as a healthy and environmentally friendly mode of transport. Carsharing is also on the rise globally, and it has the potential to disrupt urban mobility, including cycling and public transit. In this study, we hypothesized that cycling trips will increase after the opening of the greenway for residents living within 300 meters of the greenway compared to those living further away. We also posited that carsharing membership would have a positive impact on cycling uptake. Data were drawn from a three-year natural experiment study (2012–2015) of the Comox-Helmcken Greenway (“Comox Greenway”) in Vancouver. An experimental-and-control design was employed to compare pre-post differences in cycling trips for residents within 300 m of the greenway (experimental group, n = 239) and those further away (control group, n = 285). The opening of the greenway resulted in a 251% increase in cycling trips for the experimental group compared to the control group. Ethnically white subjects reported 130% more cycling trips than non-white subjects, and those aged 65 and older reported 79% fewer cycling trips than younger age cohorts. Carshare membership reduced the number of cycling trips after the greenway opening. Results suggest that greenways could be an effective strategy to boost urban cycling, and that carsharing programs may have a countervailing effect on cycling. The findings support recent initiatives to reappropriate road space in urban areas for cycling and walking due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Cycling; Active travel; Travel behavior; Urban greenway; Infrastructure intervention; Natural experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X21000366
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:trapol:v:105:y:2021:i:c:p:1-11

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.02.003

Access Statistics for this article

Transport Policy is currently edited by Y. Hayashi

More articles in Transport Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().