9.1 Bicycle and Pedestrian Lanes or Paths

Replace vehicle trips and VMT with bicycle and pedestrian travel.

Description

A large number of bicycle and pedestrian projects are available to practitioners for implementation in air quality mitigation efforts. With ISTEA, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), funding for these types of programs has increased dramatically in the last decade. They include:

• Reallocation of right-of-way to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians,

• Traffic calming programs,

• Median refuges at key minor street crossings and bike-friendly signals,

• Independent bicycle/pedestrian structures or those in conjunction with other existing or planned transportation facilities

• New trails, connecting existing trail segments, and encouraging developers to include trails in their developments,

• Improved connections between residential areas and transit stops, providing secure bicycle parking at stops and providing for carrying bicycles on the system,

• On bridges, reallocation of bridge deck width by shifting lane lines, modifying surface for better bicycle stability, modifying ramps to discourage high-speed turning movements, and, as a last resort, developing bicycle connections independent of the bridge in question,

• Safety upgrades at intersections,

• Bicycle-sensitive loop detectors in new installations and existing installations retrofitted where needed,

• Replacing bad drain grate standards with bicycle-safe models, replacing or modifying existing installations, and, as a routine practice, considering bicyclists when locating new utilities,

• Providing smooth paved shoulders on all new construction and reconstruction, and

• Increasing bike parking regularly.

Application

Areas where travel distances (residential/work or retail sites, for example) are short enough for bicycle/pedestrian travel to be practical.

For a Facility Located Parallel to an Existing Roadway

$$\text{Daily Emission Reduction (grams/day)} = \mathit{AADT} \times \mathit{PMS} \times L \times \mathit{EF}_{B}$$

The average annual daily traffic of the corridor multiplied by the percentage of drivers shifting to bike/pedestrian multiplied by the length of the project facility multiplied by the speed-based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bike/pedestrian program

Variables	(Unit)	Definitions
$\mathit{AADT}$	(vehicles/day)	Average annual daily traffic in corridor
$\mathit{EF}_{B}$	(grams/mile)	Speed-based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bike/pedestrian program (NOX, VOC, PM, or CO)
$L$	(mile)	Length of facility
$\mathit{PMS}$	(percent)	Percentage mode shift from driving to bike/pedestrian
$\mathit{PMS}$	(percent)	Percentage mode shift from driving to bike/pedestrian

For a Facility without a Parallel Roadway

$$\text{Daily Emission Reduction (grams/day)} = \mathit{HH}_{\mathit{AREA}} \times \mathit{HH}_{\mathit{TRIPS}} \times \mathit{PMS} \times \mathit{TL}_{B}\times \mathit{EF}_{B}$$

The number of households in the area affected by the strategy multiplied by the average number of household trips in the strategy area by the percentage of drivers shifting to bike/pedestrian multiplied by the length of the project facility multiplied by the speed based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bike/pedestrian program

Variables	(Unit)	Definitions
$\mathit{EF}_{B}$	(grams/mile)	Speed-based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bike/pedestrian program (NOX, VOC, PM, or CO)
$\mathit{HH}_{\mathit{AREA}}$		Number of households in strategy area
$\mathit{HH}_{\mathit{TRIPS}}$		Average number of trips per household in strategy area
$\mathit{PMS}$	(percent)	Percentage mode shift from driving to bike/pedestrian
$\mathit{TL}_{B}$	(mile)	Average auto trip length before implementation

For a Facility without a Parallel Roadway

$$\text{Daily Emission Reduction (grams/day)} = A + B$$

$$A = N_{\mathit{BW}} \times \mathit{TL}_{B} \times \mathit{EF}_{B}$$

The number of new bicycle/pedestrian facility users multiplied by the bicycle and/or pedestrian trip length multiplied by the speed-based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bicycle/pedestrian program

$$B = N_{\mathit{BW}} \times \mathit{TEF}_{\mathit{AUTO}}$$

The number of new bicycle/pedestrian facility users multiplied by the trip-end emission factor

Variables	(Unit)	Definitions
$\mathit{EF}_{B}$	(grams/mile)	Speed-based running exhaust emission factor for participants’ trip before participating in the bike/pedestrian program (NOX, VOC, PM, or CO)
$N_{\mathit{BW}}$		Number of new participants on the bike/pedestrian facility
$\mathit{TEF}_{\mathit{AUTO}}$	(grams/trip)	Auto trip-end emission factor (NOX, VOC, PM, or CO)
$\mathit{TLB}$	(mile)	Average auto trip length before implementation

Source: Capitol Area MPO (CAMPO) & EL Paso MPO & North Central Texas Council of Governments, 2006