Other Research (* denotes peer reviewed)

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Standards and Innovations in Large Central Cities
January, 2006
This report, by the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, is the product of a year-long review and research effort. The paper includes a literature review, analysis of the challenges faced by large central cities, and promising approaches.

A Return on Investment Analysis of Bikes-on-Bus Programs
Christopher A. Hagelin, June 2005
The BOB user survey results showed that BOB programs attract new patrons, encourage increased use of transit, and expand the transit service area. Bicycle parking at bus stops, specifically in residential areas, can ease the impact of rack capacity limitations and maximize the potential of the bicycle as a means to access transit.

If You Build Them, Commuters Will Use Them - Another Look
Jennifer Dill and Theresa Carr, Portland State University
This paper uses data from 35 major US cities to support the notion that new bicycle lanes in large cities will be used by commuters.

*Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity? Examining the Evidence
Transportation Research Board (Special Report 282)
Institute of Medicine
This paper discusses the connections between physical activity and health, outlines trends and factors affecting activity levels, and makes suggestions for future research based on the current state of knowledge and lessons learned.

The Future Isn't What it Used to Be: Changing Trends and Their Implications for Transport Planning
Litman, Todd
Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2005
This paper examines demographic, economic and market trends that affect travel demand, and their implications for transport planning.

Transport, Environment and Health
WHO Regional Publications, European Series, No. 89
This publication discusses the health and environmental effects of transportation including noise, accidents and injuries, air pollution, mental health issues, and the role of walking and bicycling.

*Environmental Correlates of Walking and Cycling: Findings from the Transportation, Urban Design, and Planning Literatures
B. Saelens, J. Sallis and L. Frank
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2003
In this review, neighborhood environment characteristics proposed to be relevant to walking/cycling for transport are defined, including population density, connectivity, and land use mix. Neighborhood comparison and correlational studies with nonmotorized transport outcomes are considered, with evidence suggesting that residents from communities with higher density, greater connectivity, and more land use mix report higher rates of walking/cycling for utilitarian purposes than low-density, poorly connected, and single land use neighborhoods.

*Active Transportation and Physical Activity: Opportunities for Collaboration on Transportation and Public Health Research
J. Sallis, L. Frank, B. Saelens and K. Kraft
Transportation Research Part A, 2003
In the interests of promoting effective collaboration among the transportation, planning, and health fields, this paper was written to fulfill three purposes: to summarize the transportation and planning studies on the relation between community design and non-motorized (''active'') transport and to interpret these studies from a health perspective; to summarize studies from the health literature that examine the relation between physical environmental variables and leisure-time physical activity that have relevance for transportation research; and to promote more collaboration among transportation, planning, and health investigators by identifying opportunities for transdisciplinary research.

*Obesity Relationships with Community Design, Physical Activity, and Time Spent in Cars
L. Frank, M. Andresen and T. Schmid
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2004
This paper is the first to document an association between land use, weight and travel behavior at the neighborhood level using objective land use data. The study tracked the body mass index and travel behavior of more than 10,500 people in the Atlanta region while assessing the types of neighborhoods in which they lived.

Mean Streets 2004: How Far Have We Come?
Ernst, Michelle
Surface Transportation Policy Project, 2004
This publication is an update of previous Mean Streets reports. The report finds that although walking is still relatively dangerous in many areas, many metropolitan areas are taking steps to improve walkability. Topics covered include reasons for changes in walkability, high risk populations, the health risks of physical inactivity, and recommendations for the future.

Active Transportation Policy Issues
Litman, Todd
Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2003
This paper, funded by Go For Green, was written to provide background information on Active Transportation Policy and Legislation to facilitate the Active Transportation Roundtable. The paper outlines some benefits and impacts of Active Transportation, current initiatives and solutions, specific policy actions, and recommendations for future action.

* The Health Benefits of Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents: Implications for Chronic Disease Prevention
Sothern et al , 1999
European Journal of Pediatrics
This study concludes that moderate intensity exercise of a non-structured nature seems to facilitate most of the disease prevention goals and health promoting benefits. With new guidelines promoting a less intense and more time-efficient approach to regular physical activity, it is hoped that an upward trend in the physical activity patterns, and specifically children at risk for chronic disease, will develop in the near future.

* Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents
American Diabetes Association
Diabetes Care, March 2000
This publication from the American Diabetes Association deals with the classification, epidemiology, pathophysiology, testing, treatment and prevention of Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents.

Bicycle Lanes versus Wide Curb Lanes: Operational and Safety Findings and Countermeasure Recommendations
Hunter et al ; October 1999
Federal Highway Administration
This report presents operational and safety findings and countermeasure recommendations from a comparative analysis of bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes. The overall conclusion is that both BL and WCL facilities can and should be used to improve riding conditions for bicyclists. The identified differences in operations and conflicts appeared to be related to the specific destination patterns of bicyclists riding through the intersection areas studied and not to the characteristics of the bicycle facilities.

Growing Demand for Safe Walking and Bicycling: A Four Year Report
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center; January 2003
This report looks at the demand for bicycling and walking from 1999 to 2002 through the eyes of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC). The report highlights the demand for walking and bicycling, questions people ask, features a number of tools and resources, and discusses Walk to School Day, Safe Routes to School and other school programs.

Are We There Yet? Assessing the Performance of State Departments of Transportation on Accommodating Bicycles and Pedestrians
Wilkinson and Chauncey; February, 2003
National Center for Bicycling and Walking
This report by National Center for Bicycling & Walking (NCBW) documents the results of the first of what will be a series of studies conducted as part of The Benchmarking Project. This initial report focuses on specific state department of transportation (DOT) activities.

* Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany
Pucher and Dijkstra. September 2003
American Journal of Public Health
This study examines the public health consequences of unsafe and inconvenient walking and bicycling conditions in American cities and suggests improvements based on successful policies in the Netherlands and Germany.

Safety in Numbers: More Walkers and Bicyclists, Safer Walking and Bicycling
Jacobsen, 2003
Injury Prevention
The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the numbers of people walking or bicycling and the frequency of collisions between motorists and walkers or bicyclists. Unexpectedly, the results show that the likelihood that a given person walking or bicycling will be struck by a motorist varies
inversely with the amount of walking or bicycling. This pattern is consistent across communities of varying
size, from specific intersections to cities and countries, and across time periods.

* Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000
Mokdad et al ; March 2004
Journal of the American Medical Association
The findings of this analysis show that smoking remains the leading cause of mortality. However, poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death.

Driven to Spend: the Impact of Sprawl on Household Transportation Expenses
McCann, 2000
Surface Transportation Policy Project and the Center for Neighborhood Technology
This study finds that sprawling development is increasing the cost of transportation for many American families. Sprawling development makes driving the only available transportation alternative, and car ownership is expensive. This research shows that transportation costs are highest in sprawling places, while less sprawling places that offer a variety of transportation alternatives cost families less.

Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl: a national analysis of physical activity, obesity, and chronic disease
McCann and Ewing; September, 2003
Surface Transportation Policy Project
This report presents the first national study to show a clear association between the type of place people live and their activity levels, weight, and health. The study found that people living in counties marked by sprawling development are likely to walk less and weigh more than people who live in less sprawling counties. In addition, people in more sprawling counties are more likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure). These results hold true after controlling for factors such as age, education, gender, and race and ethnicity.

Survey Results

1998 National Survey on Active Transportation shows that most Canadians want to be more active and are frustrated they are not active more often.

The 2001 National Household Travel Survey is the nation's inventory of daily and long-distance travel. The survey includes demographic characteristics of households, people, vehicles, and detailed information on daily and longer-distance travel for all purposes by all modes. NHTS survey data are collected from a sample of U.S. households and expanded to provide national estimates of trips and miles by travel mode, trip purpose, and a host of household attributes. (Also see Highlights of the 2001 NHTS)

Americans' Attitudes on Walking and Creating Better Walking Communities - In October 2002, Belden Russonello & Stewart conducted a national random sample telephone survey of 800 adults, age 18 and older from October 23 through 30, 2002. The survey used a random digit dial (RDD) sample of households across the U.S. The survey finds that Americans would like to walk more than they are currently, but they are held back by poorly designed communities that encourage speeding and dangerous intersections and whose design is inconvenient to walk to shops and restaurants. The survey documents public support for better walking communities and specific policies such as designing streets for slower traffic speeds; using more federal dollars to make walking safer from traffic; and creating walking-friendly routes to school for children.

Survey of North American Bicycle Commuters: Design and Aggregate Results (Moritz, 1998) Information about 2,374 bicycle commuters was collected, including commuting habits, facilities used, bicycle characteristics, motivation, safety/accidents, health and individual/household characteristics. The results of this survey were used to create a relative danger index for various bicycle facilities, relating to accident frequency and distance traveled on each type of facility.

Articles and Research
Facts
Organizations
Policies and Legislation
Programs
Tools
Walking