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Most individual trips, whatever the major mode of transport used, begin and finish with a walk section. Additionally, walking may be used as a major trip mode by itself. Walking is therefore a fundamental component of travel.
Four areas in which pedestrian travel becomes particularly important are:
A critical factor in the design of pedestrian facilities is the walking rate of pedestrians. Several studies have been carried out and the following figures appear appropriate for design purposes:
| Average adult and elderly | 1.4 m/s | (5 km/h) |
| Children | 1.6 m/s | (6 km/h) |
| Design | 0.9 to 1.2 m/s | (2 to 4 km/h) |
Concrete footpaving may be constructed by using formwork, or less commonly by the use of an extrusion machine. Concrete footpaving is usually about 75 mm thick and unreinforced. The use of reinforcement is more costly but may enable shrinkage cracking to be controlled more effectively. Reinforcement may also be placed at driveway locations, particularly for industrial premises.
The Pedestrian Council of Australia was initiated by a group of citizens and organisations concerned at the lack of priority given to walking safety, amenity and access by authorities in Australia. Their site outlines current issues and strategies.
The bicycle was developed during the period when private transport was still primarily restricted to either walking or riding a horse. Most trips were relatively short and the bicycle offered an attractive alternative means of transport particularly in areas with flat topography. Bicycle riding has remained a common method of transport in Asian countries and in certain European countries where its use is well provided for. In Australia bicycle riding is relatively popular in the pre-driving age group (i.e. under about 17 years of age). In recent years road construction authorities have been more aware of the need to provide facilities for cyclists.
Advantages of bicycles and cycling are:
Disadvantages of bicycles and cycling are:
In Australia, the dominant bicycle planning philosophy originated in Victoria during the late 1970’s. Most of the planning initiatives developed by other states emerged from their acceptance of the bicycle planning philosophy developed in Geelong, Victoria. This philosophy espouses an approach known as the 4E’s.
The provision of bikeways for cyclists is not the total answer to the provision of facilities for cyclists. For the foreseeable future it is likely that the greater proportion of cycle trips will be using space shared with motor vehicles.
An important aspect of the physical planning of facilities is not in segregating cyclists from other road users but in enabling cyclists to bypass or avoid the relatively small lengths of dangerous roads, or to improve these dangerous lengths so that cyclists may safely use them.
In these notes the term bikeway is taken to incorporate paths, trails, lanes and routes which are provided for cyclists. There are numerous forms of bikeways that can be provided but three basic types can be defined:
Recommended design dimensions are:
Although bicycles are capable of travelling at quite high speeds, particularly on downhill sections, most cyclists ride at speeds between 10 km/h and 20 km/h. For design purposes 15 km/h may be adopted as a common speed. However, for exclusive bikeways, particularly in rural areas where long downhill grades may occur, a design speed of about 30 km/h may be necessary.
Regardless of modern bike gearing, a route will not be used if sections are very steep and require a great deal of energy. There is no restriction nominated on the length of a slope which has up to a 1.5% grade, since the average cyclist with a geared bicycle can pedal at this grade for extended periods. However, overseas standards suggest that gradients should not exceed 10% and that a 5% gradient should be limited to 100 metres in length while a 2% gradient should be limited to 450 metres.
Signs should be used to warn cyclists of any hazards and the distance that signs should be placed in advance of the hazard is generally about 40 m. Stopping sight distance should be based on a perception/reaction time of 2.5 seconds. Stopping sight distance for a design speed of 15 km/h on a 0% grade is 15m.
The following empirical relationship between radius of curvature and bicycle velocity may be used:
R = 0.25 V + 0.4
where R = radius of curvature in metres
V = bikeway design speed in km/h
Generally a minimum radius of five metres is acceptable.
Bikeways should be surfaced with smooth materials which give a comfortable ride and provide adequate grip in wet weather. The best surfaces are asphalt or concrete, while loose material, such as sand or gravel, is unsuitable.
The BikePlan Source contains some good information on planning and design of cycleways. See particularly the material under Planning Guide, and Library.
Exploratorium's Science of Cycling contains interesting information on why cycles have evolved to be the way they are today. The site has pages on wheels, drives and gears, frames and materials, etc.
A rapidly developing area of transportation is Intelligent Vehicle Systems (ITS) and the paper ITS: Benefits for Bicyclists looks at the impact of this on cyclists.
Various cities, towns and regions are developing bicycle strategies to encourage greater use of cycles. The Canberra Bicycle 2000 outlines the stategy formulated in 1997 for the Australian Capital Territory.
Page last modified 7 July 1999.