Presentation from Dr. Ralph Buehler's Lecture September 12, 2013: “Making the National Capitol Region the Next Cycling Capital of the USA: Opportunities and Lessons from Home and Abroad”

1. Ralph Buehler, Virginia Tech and John Pucher, Rutgers University
Making the National Capital Region the Next Cycling
Capital of the USA: Opportunities and Lessons from
Home and Abroad
Photo: Susan Handy Photo: Ralph BuehlerPhoto: SF Bicycle CoalitionPhoto: Ralph Buehler

2. Why Cycling?
 Economical: Affordable by everyone, requiring minimal
costs for individuals and governments
 Good for business: Generate retail sales and profits from
tourism
 Environmentally friendly: Virtually no pollution
 Space-efficient: Uses little space for operation and parking
 Energy-efficient: Use up calories we need to burn off from
eating too much
 Healthy: Many studies report on physical, social, mental
health benefits
 Fun: Getting out into the fresh air with family and friends

3. Cycling Share of Daily Trips in Europe, North
America, and Australia, 1999-2008
0.5 1
1 1 2 2 3
4 4
8
9 9
10
18
26
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
Percentoftripsbycycling
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

4. Bike Mode Share of Work Commuters
in the USA (2007) and Canada (2006)
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R., Seinen, M. 2011
“Bicycling Renaissance in North America? An
Update and Re-Assessment of Cycling Trends and
Policies,” Transportation Research A, Vol. 45, No.
6, pp. 451-475.

5. Source: Pucher, Dill, and Handy, “Infrastructure, Programs, and Policies to Increase
Bicycling,” Preventive Medicine, Jan 2010, Vol. 50, S.1, pp. S106-S125.
4
7
6 6
15
29
25 25
12
13
12
14
27
35
37
38
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Nuremburg… Berlin… Cologne… Munich… Freiburg… Muenster ('82-'10) Amsterdam… Copenhagen…
Percentofalltrips
Rebound of Bike Mode
Share of Trips in
German, Dutch, and
Danish Cities

6. 0.3
0.6
0.3
0.9
0.8
0.9 0.9
0.8
1.6
1.5
1.0 1.0
1.7
1.1
0.9
1.1
1.5
1.8
2.4 2.4
2.6
3.3
3.6
3.7 3.7
4.1
4.4
6.8
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
BikeShareofRegularCommutes
1990 (USA) / 1996 (Canada)
2011 (USA and Canada)
*
* 2011 figures for Canadian cities are preliminary estimates
Boom in Cycling to Work in 14
Large US and Canadian Cities
Source: Pucher, J. and Buehler, R. City
Cycling, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, 2012.

7. Source: Buehler, R., Hamre, A., Sonenklar, D., & P. Goger. 2013. Determinants of Cycling in Washington, DC. Report for U. S. Department of
Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Washington, D.C. and MAUTC.
Trend in Number of Regular Bicycle Commuters in
Washington, DC and Adjacent jurisdictions, 1990-2011
2,292
3,035
7741
916
1,231
2034
891
773
1337
967
669
1150
661
803
1452
359
413
770
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
1990 Census 2000 Census ACS 2011
Alexandria City, VA
Arlington County, VA
Fairfax County, VA
Prince George's County, MD
Montgomery County, MD
Washington, DC
3.4x
2.2x
1.5x
1.2x
2.2x
2.1x
Increase

8. Trend in Bike Mode Share of all Trips in Washington, DC and
Adjacent Jurisdictions, 1994-2008
Source: Buehler, R., Hamre, A., Sonenklar, D., & P. Goger. 2011. Determinants of Cycling in Washington, DC. Report for U. S. Department of
Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Washington, D.C. and MAUTC.
1.3
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.5
0.2
1.5
1.1
0.8
0.6
0.3
0.4
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Washington, DC Alexandria, VA Arlington
County, VA
Montgomery
County, MD
Fairfax County, VA Prince George's
County, MD
1994 2008

9. Spatial Variation in Bicycle Mode Share of Work Commuters
in Washington, D.C. Area, 2005-2009
Pucher, J., Buehler, R., Seinen, M. 2011 “Bicycling Renaissance in North America? An Update and Re-
Assessment of Cycling Trends and Policies,” Transportation Research A, Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 451-475.

10. Cycling levels in the Washington DC
Region have increased…
…. but the cycling boom is limited to certain
areas, mainly in parts of or close to the „urban core‟ of
the region.

11. 2 2 1
16
12
7
31
24
18
29
35
24
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40 0<2.5km
2.5km<4.5km
4.5km-6.5km
0<2.5km
2.5km<4.5km
4.5<6.5km
0<2.5km
2.5km<4.5km
4.5km-6.5km
0<2.5km
2.5km<4.5km
5<7.5km
Percentoftripsbycycling
USA GER DK NL
Trip distance category
Share of Cycling for Short Trips
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

12.  ~27% of all trips in the U.S. were a mile or
shorter in 2009
 ~41% of all trips were shorter than two
miles
 ~36% of all trips<2 miles in DC Region
Lots of Potential for Increased
Cycling:
Many daily trips in American urban
areas and the DC Region are short
enough to bike!

13. Europeans cycle for many trip purposes

14. Pucher: Biking for all Texans

15. 25%
27%
30%
49%
55%
56%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
USA UK Canada Germany Denmark Netherlands
Percentoftripsbywomen
Women‟s Share of Bike Trips in
Europe and North America
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

16. Copenhagen
Amsterdam
Berlin
Vancouver
MontrealToronto
Portland
Minneapolis
Chicago
San Francisco
Melbourne
Sydney
Tokyo
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Percentofbicyclistswhoarefemale
Percent of trips by bicycle
Washington
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.), City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012
Bicycle Mode Share of
Trips and Percentage of
Female Cyclists in Large
Cities

17. Source: Susan Handy

18. 3 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.5
2 2 2
1 1
14
9 9 9
11
9
32
20
14 14 15 15 15
40
25
21 22 23
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
5-15
16-24
25-39
40-65
65+
0-16
17-29
30-59
60-65
65+
0-17
18-25
26-44
45-59
60-65
65+
10-19'
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70-74
0-17
18-25
26-44
45-64
65+
Percentoftripsbycycling
Age Group
NL
USA
GER
DK
UK
Bike Mode Share of Trips by Age Group
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

19. Cycling for all ages
Foto by Marie Demers

20. 13
29
58
25
34
41
88
6 6
10
23
67
25
49
26
82
7
11
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
No car One
car
Two and
more cars
Lowest
Quartile
Mid
Quartiles
Highest
Quartile
White African
American
Other
PercentofBikeTrips
Washington D.C. Region U.S. Urbanized Areas
20
Percent of Bike Trips by Group in the D.C. Region
vs. U.S. Averages for Urbanized Areas, 2008/2009.
Source: Buehler, R., Hamre, A., Sonenklar, D., & P. Goger. 2011. Determinants of Cycling in Washington, DC. Report for U. S.
Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Washington, D.C. and MAUTC.
Higher %
of trips by
cyclists w/o
and 1 car
Higher %
of trips by
cyclists in
4th quartile
High % of
„white‟

21. The Washington DC Region has
a high share of work trips by
bicycle, but…
….DC area cyclists are more likely men,
younger than 40, in higher income groups,
and white.

22. •Especially important for the young, the
old, for anyone with disabilities, for the timid
or risk-averse
•Women more sensitive to safety than men
•Safety of cycling in the
Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany helps
explain high levels of cycling there
Make Cycling Safe for Everyone !

23. 1.1
1.6 1.6
3.3
5.5
1.6 1.5
4.7
5.7
33.5*
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
18.0
20.0
NL DK GER UK USA
Fatalititiesandinjuriespertripandperkilometer
Cylists killed per 100 million km cycled
Cylists injured per 10 million km cycled
Cyclist Fatality and Injury Rates, 2007-2010
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

24. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
Totalcyclistfatalitiesrelativeto1970(=100)
USA
UK
Denmark
Germany
Netherlands
Trends in Cyclist
Fatalities
Source: Pucher and Buehler (eds.),
City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

25. SAFETY IN NUMBERS
•As levels of cycling increase, injury
and fatality rates per trip and per km
traveled fall dramatically
•Thus, if we can increase cycling, it
will almost inevitably be safer

26. Source: City of Portland (2013)
Sharp increase in cycling safety in
Portland as cycling levels rose
70% fall in
crash rate
6-fold increase
in bike trips

27. Chicago
Washington
Toronto
Montréal
San Francisco
Vancouver
Minneapolis
Portland
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
AnnualFatalitiesper10,000Cyclists
Bike Mode Share of Workers
New York
Safety in Numbers:
Cyclist fatality rate
falls as cycling levels
increase.
Source: Pucher and Buehler, City Cycling.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

28. Cycling in the Washington DC Region
is safer than in NYC and Chicago, …
…. but Portland, Minneapolis, San Francisco
and European cities are safer than DC.

29.  Pro-car policies in European cities in 1950s
and 1960s caused huge decline in walking and
cycling
 Dramatic policy turn-around since 1970s to
limit car use and promote
cycling, walking, and public transport in
Dutch, Danish, and German cities
Public Policies Crucial
to Promote Cycling

30. 1950s 1960s Today
Source: City of Freiburg

31. How to Encourage More Cycling while
Improving Safety
•Better cycling facilities
•Integration of bike with public transport
•Traffic calming of residential neighborhoods
•Mixed-use zoning and improved urban design
•Restrictions on motor vehicle use
•Traffic education and Safe Routes to School
•Traffic regulations and enforcement

32. Trend in Bike Paths and Lanes per 100,000 Population
in Nine Large North American Cities, 2000-2010
3 4
6
10
16
19
17
39
60
8 9
11
15
22
25
27
70
73
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
New York Chicago Toronto San Francisco Vancouver Montréal Washington Minneapolis Portland
KilometersofLanesandPathsper100,000Population
2000 2010

33. Cycling Policies in the DC Region
 1970s: Plans for on-street facilities, but focus on off-street
shared-use trails (often together with the NPS)
 1980s/early 1990s: only few new pro-bike initiatives
 Building on the progress of the late 1990s, bicycle
planning experienced a renaissance in the 2000s.
 New focus on bike lanes and „innovative‟ measures

34. Bike Lanes and Paved Off-Street Paths per
Square Mile of Land Area, 2011
0.81
1.86
0.86
0.51
0.29
0.19
0.98
1.12
0.84
0.06 0.03 0.01
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2.00
Washington, DC Arlington County Alexandria City Fairfax County Montgomery County Prince George's
County
MilesofLanesorTrailsperSquareMile
Miles of Paved Trails per Square Mile
Miles of Lanes per Square Mile

35. Separate Bikeways
in Germany
Sources: City of Freiburg & Pucher

36. Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis
Greenway in
Minneapolis
Source: Buehler

37. One-way cycle track in The Hague
Source: Peter Furth
Raised curb
between
cycle track
and traffic
lane

38. Almost 100km of 2-way cycle tracks in Montreal
Separation from traffic via
bollards and parked cars
Separation from traffic via
concrete barriers
Photo: Peter Furth Photo: Velo Quebec

39. Source: Buehler
D
C
R
E
G
I
O
N
Pennsylvania
Avenue
15th Street
Mount Vernon
Trail
15th Street

40. Dutch Bicycle Facility Selection Matrix
Lane
Configuration
Average daily
traffic
(vehicles /
day) Street type and speed limit
Urban
local street
Urban
through street
Rural local
road
Fast traffic
road
30 km/h
(19 mph)
50 km/h (31
mph)
60 km/h (37
mph)
70+ km/h
(44+ mph)
2-way traffic
with no
centerline
< 2500
mixed
traffic1
bike lane2
or
cycletrack3
advisory bike
lane4
cycle track
or low-speed
service road
2000 to 3000
bike lane2
or
cycle track5
3000 to 5000
> 4000
bike lane
or cycle
track
bike lane or
cycle track3
2 lanes (1+1) any
bike lane
or cycle
track
bike lane or
cycle track3
4 lanes (2 + 2)
or more
any
(does not
exist)
cycle track or low speed service road
Source: Peter Furth, “Cycling
Infrastructure,” in Pucher
and Buehler, eds. City
Cycling, MIT Press, 2012.

41. Bike lanes are definitely better than no separate bike
facilities, but they do not provide nearly as much
protection of cyclists from motor vehicles as cycle tracks
Bike lanes used for
car parking
Bike lanes used for
truck deliveries
Dooring of cyclists

42. Bike bridge over
Yarra River in
Melbourne, Australia
Bike bridge over Ems
River in
Muenster, Germany
Crucial to provide river crossings for cyclists

43. Provision of cycle track at this
key underpass in Montreal
Photo: Velo Quebec
Separation from traffic via concrete
barriers AND bollards

44. 14 Street Bridge

45. Intersection in Copenhagen, with Separate
Crossings for Pedestrians and Cyclists

46. Red bike lanes for intersection crossings, connected
with red brick sidepaths on both sides of every road
Source: City of Muenster, Germany

47. Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Health
Bike lane, advance stop line, and priority signal for cyclists in Muenster

48. Advanced stop line for cyclists in Berlin
Advanced stop line and bike box in Portland

49. Bike Box in Alexandria, VA
Source: Hillary Poole

50. Green wave
for cyclists in
Odense, Den
mark
Troels Andersen, “Cycling in Odense, Denmark”
Express
bikeways
for
commuters
Bike speed
indicators
Raised curb
protects
bike path
from cars

51. Traffic Calming of Residential Neighborhoods
•Speed limited by law to 30km per hour (19mph) or less
•Physical measures that force cars to slow down:
•Road narrowing, zigzag routing, chicanes
•Raised intersections and crosswalks
•Traffic circles
•Speed humps and bumps
•Mid-block closures and artificial dead-ends
•Bulb-outs at intersections and crosswalks, with sidewalk
widening

52. Source: World Health Organization (2008) and OECD Transport Research Centre (2006)
Why Traffic Calming Saves Lives
Speed
kills!
Speed
kills!

53. Convenient bike cut-thru for cyclists
Foto by Peter Berkeley

54. Traffic Calming in Québec City
Source: Transports Viables
Traffic calming
in Quebec City
and Montreal
Cheap, easy, and very
effective traffic diverters
Photo: Transports Viables

55. Typical traffic calming
in new German suburbs
7 km/hr speed
limit

56. Bike Boulevards
in Portland
Traffic
calming
turns
these
streets
into
bikeways
Fotos: Jonathan Maus
(in 15 US cities in 2012)

57. Source: City of Berlin
1,100 km of
bicycling
facilities in
Berlin plus
3,800 km of
traffic calmed
streets = 10%
bike share of
all trips
Source: City of Berlin, Burden, Buehler

58. The Washington DC Region has greatly
expanded its bicycle infrastructure and
implemented innovative
measures, but…
…. it does not have a comprehensive network of
bicycle facilities and intersection treatments that
allows cyclists to get from A to B without cycling in
heavy or higher speed car traffic.

59. Bike Parking Spaces per 100,000 Residents, 2008
73 148
466
802 725 857 1,056 1,121 1,286
4,599
6,960
30,272
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
BikeParkingSpacesper100,000Population
Source: Pucher, J., Buehler, R. (eds.) City Cycling. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012

60. Conversion of Car Parking to Bike Parking
27 bike corrals in San Francisco
95 bike corrals in Portland
E-Street in DC
King Street in Alexandria

61. Bike Parking and Showers At Work
Increase Likelihood to Commute by Bike
Note: Relative to 1. Above 1=more likely. Below 1=less likely.
Buehler, R. 2012. “Determinants of Bicycle Commuting in the Washington, D.C. Region: The Role of Bicycle Parking, Cyclist Showers, and Free
Car Parking at Work,” Transportation Research Part D: Transportation and Environment Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 525-531.

62. Over 50,000 buses in the USA now come
equipped with bike racks
Photo: Metro Transit

63. Bike on LRT in NJ and Minneapolis
Photo: Metro TransitPhoto: John Boyle

64. Photo: John PucherPhoto: Ralph Buehler
Bikes on Caltrain
in San Francisco
Photo: San Francisco Bicycling Coalition

65. Bi-directional cycle track and bike
sharing near metro station in Montréal
Source: Vélo Québec
BIXI bike docking
station
Metro
station
Cycle track

66. Bike Station next to main train
station in Muenster, Germany
Photo: Peter Berkeley
Capacity: 3,500 bikes

67. Bike Station next to Union
Station in Washington, D.C. Photo: Ralph Buehler

68. Nice Ride in Minneapolis
Capital Bikeshare in Washington, DC
Hubway Bikeshare in
Cambridge, Boston, Somerville, and
Brookline
Over 20 bike sharing
systems in North America

69. Who are the „bike-sharers‟ in
the Washington DC Region?
65
35
3
8
81
3 4 5
24
31
23
17
14
86
48
52
8
5
78
4 3
17
43
17 16
7
n.a. n.a.
55
45
7
3
81
5 5
12
55
20
10
5
14
86
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Male Female Asian Black White Hispanic Other 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Student Not
Student
Percent
Area Cyclists Short-term CaBi Users Annual CaBi Members
Source: Buehler et al. 2012. Are Bikeshare Users Different from Regular Cyclists? A First Look at Short-Term Users,
Annual Members, and Area Cyclists in the Washington, DC Region

70. The Washington DC region is a national
leader in bikesharing…
…but CaBi has fewer bikes and docking
stations than systems in
Paris, London, Montreal, and NYC.

71. Traffic Education
•Improved motorist training, with much more
emphasis on how to avoid endangering
pedestrians and cyclists
•Compulsory traffic safety lessons for all school
children by the age of 10, with testing by traffic
police on actual traffic test courses, to ensure
safe and defensive walking and cycling by an
early age (as in the Netherlands and Germany)

72. German traffic laws generally favor cyclists and pedestrians over motorists

73. Cycling
training and
testing
course in
Berlin
Most German and Dutch
children take cycling lessons by
the 3rd or 4th grade and must
pass a police-administered
cycling safety test!

74. Bike path leads directly to school in NL

75. Innovative directional
signs and bike trip
counters in Denmark
Photo by Susan Handy
Photo by Susan Handy

76. Summer Streets in
New York City attracts
200,000 participants on
Saturdays in August
Source: Troels Andersen
Guided Bicycle
Tours for Seniors

77. Summary: Cycling in the DC Region
 Between 1990 and 2013, cycling levels and bike infrastructure supply have
increased;
 „Bike-commuter‟ region;
 National leader in bikesharing;
 Expansive shared-use trail network;
 Experimentation with innovative facilities (cycle tracks, color, bike boxes);
 „Urban core‟ jurisdictions do most—particularly the District;
 Many challenges for cycling remain:
 Bike lane and path network not complete;
 Few bicycle-friendly intersection;
 Little use of traffic calming in neighborhoods;
 Uneven distribution of cyclists vs. population;
 Lack of training and enforcement.
Source: Buehler, R., Hamre, A., Sonenklar, D., & P. Goger. 2011. Determinants of Cycling in Washington, DC. Report for U. S.
Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Washington, D.C. and MAUTC.

78. Proposed Measures to Increase Cycling
in the Washington DC Region
1. Provide a comprehensive package of integrated measures
2. Build a network of integrated bikeways with intersections that facilitate
cycling
3. Provide good bike parking at key destinations and public transport stations
4. Expand CaBi
5. Provide convenient information and promotional events
6. Introduce individualized marketing to target specific groups
7. Improve cyclist education and expand bike to school programs
8. Improve motorist training, licensing, and traffic enforcement
9. Restrict car use through traffic calming, car-free zones, and less parking
10. Design communities to be compact, mixed-use, and bikeable
11. Coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries

79. New book with
MIT Press
http://citycyclingbook.wordpress.com
About the authors:
http://ralphbu.wordpress.com
http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher