Simulating bicycle wayfinding mechanisms in an urban environment

Abstract

With the increased recognition that bicycling is a sustainable transportation mode choice, there is a continued interest in understanding how the built environment affects bicyclist travel behavior. Research on the influence of small-scale built form elements, such as street characteristics, on bicyclist wayfinding is limited. wayfinding is defined as a purposeful way of reaching from point A to point B; it is comprised of decision-making and subsequent movement. This research uses an agent-based model to investigate how small-scale urban design affects bicyclist wayfinding. Using geographic information systems and statistical analysis, different types of simulated bicycle agents were compared to observed bicycle volumes. Statistically significant positive relationships between bicycle agent types and observational data existed. The largest correspondence between agents and field observations occurred along central routes that were accessible from other streets (R2 = .377) and that had fewer decision-maki...