Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis for Road Segment Cycling Suitability Assessment

Bertha Santos (), Sílvia Passos, Jorge Gonçalves and Isabel Matias
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Bertha Santos: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal
Sílvia Passos: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal
Jorge Gonçalves: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal
Isabel Matias: Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Beira Interior, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-20

Abstract: The shift to low-emission mobility, embedded in a growing need for sustainable development, makes soft modes a highly promoted transport alternative in national and international mobility policies. Soft mobility modes, especially cycling, is an alternative capable of reversing the trend of private car use in urban areas, being one of the main strategies of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP). Several factors can influence travel mode choice, between them, demographic, economic, land use, travel distance and time, and climatic and physical factors are the most reported in the literature. This study presents a framework of the main European cycling strategies and focuses on the development of a methodological approach to assess the cycling suitability of existing road networks. The approach is based on a spatial multi-criteria analysis that combines population density, trip generation points service areas and road characteristics (hierarchy and slope). Consideration of the topography was particularly relevant in the cycling suitability model definition. The model was tested in the hillside city of Covilhã (Portugal) and compared with the recently planned and implemented city cycling network. The main conclusions point to the adequacy, flexibility, and applicability of the proposed model by municipalities, contributing to a more sustainable urban environment and healthier communities. Results obtained in the Covilhã case study also denote the possibility of implementing cycling mobility in hillside cities, especially using e-bikes. For future works, an expansion of the approach is proposed to include a detailed and sustained cycling network definition model and a process to assess cycling routes hierarchy/solutions.

Keywords: sustainable urban mobility; soft mobility; cycling; cycling suitability maps; spatial multi-criteria analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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