Use of Active Transportation in Jackson 2005
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In August 2005, the Fitness Council of Jackson conducted an observational survey to obtain a rough estimate of the number of people walking, running, biking, etc. in Jackson on a typical good weather day. The term active transportation is used throughout this report to include all people observed not using motorized vehicles, though people observed walking or biking during the survey may have been doing so for recreation or for transportation. This survey is part of the Project U-Turn initiative. Project U-Turn is a five year program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and lead by Jackson’s Walkable Communities Task Force. With this survey as a starting point, the Fitness Council will continue to do similar surveys in the future to track the number of people walking and biking. Especially of interest will be how improved infrastructure in Jackson (e.g. bike lanes) influences the total number of people choosing active transportation.
Multiple surveys involving vehicle traffic counts and pedestrian counts for crosswalks have been completed in Jackson, but no surveys that take a “snapshot” of active transportation use throughout the city have been conducted. This type of observational survey is important to get an estimate of active transportation that is “real time” and not based on scattered observations, participation in special events or self-report individual surveys about use of active transportation. These latter types of surveys rely on self-reported answers or isolated incidents that can’t be broadened to represent the whole city. By conducting this survey in a measurable and repeatable manner, active transportation can be tracked through years and changes in the layout of the city. The results of the survey can also serve to measure the success of the various groups in Jackson promoting active transportation, recreation, and helmet use.
Methods
In an attempt to learn more about how to create and conduct the survey, similar surveys completed by other cities were reviewed. Characteristics such as times of the day the surveys were done, variables that each city studied, and how each city conducted the survey were all researched and taken into consideration. For example, the times used for the Jackson survey (7-9:30 am, 11am-2 pm, 4:30-6:30 pm), were picked specifically because similar times were used by Albuquerque, NM and New York Metropolitan Region, NY and were the expected busiest times for active transportation – morning and evening rush hour and the lunch hour.1 Studies in the New York Metropolitan Region, the state of Rhode Island and the City of Ann Arbor, as well as ideas from the Walkable Communities Task Force contributed to the other variables used in the Jackson study.1,2
Variables included in the Jackson study were the time period, time of day, direction, road (if at an intersection), mode of transportation, whether the person was in the road, on the sidewalk, or in a bike lane, approximate age, gender, helmet use, and any miscellaneous information. See Appendix A for the study checklist used.
Locations to be observed were a combination of roads with existing or proposed bike lanes and other appropriate locations based on their proximity to a grocery store, other shopping center, or recreation area. The Walkable Communities Task Force was asked for input on the location list. See Appendix B for the location list.
After the survey was finalized and reviewed, volunteers to complete the survey were recruited. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America were contacted, but none were available to help. The Jackson Nonprofit Support Center’s volunteer service center, a Jackson Citizen Patriot article, Fitness Council staff, family, and friends and the Walkable Communities Task Force provided volunteers. In total there were eleven volunteers to conduct the survey.
Fitness Council staff prepared clipboards for each volunteer that included a map, a survey sheet for variables, and volunteer instructions. All volunteers received the packet with verbal and written instructions so that results would be as standardized as possible. See Appendix C for the volunteer instructions and sample map.
Throughout the week the volunteers sat at each location for the allotted time period and filled out the survey sheet. All completed survey sheets were returned to the Fitness Council by Monday, August 8.
The survey was originally designed to be completed in one day, August 4, but because of the small number of volunteers, it had to be spread over four days, August 2-5. The list of locations also had to be narrowed down to the ten that had existing and proposed bike lanes and those that seemed likely to yield the most information for the survey. Weather during the survey time period August 2-5 was typical for August. It was sunny most of the time each day and temperatures started in the around 65 o at 7am and rose to 91o by the end of the day.
Data was collected at the three designated times for nine of the ten locations. At one location, Francis St., data was only collected at the AM and noon time slots because the volunteer was unable to complete the PM time slot. In addition, one volunteer mistakenly collected data at the Ganson St location from 10:30-1:30 instead of 11-2pm, but because of the similar time the data was treated as equivalent to those collected at the correct time.
Michigan State University graduate students in the Department of Recreation created a data analysis tool in Microsoft Excel that allowed staff to enter data and generate a variety of charts and graphs.3 The same tool will be used each time to the survey is completed.
Total Number of Non-motorized Travelers
Each volunteer recorded the street name where the observed pedestrian or bicyclist was traveling. The volunteer could record any street in sight of his/her intersection. If the person traveled on two streets in the volunteer’s field of view (i.e. turned onto Jackson from Ganson) only the street that the person was first seen on was recorded. A grand total of 1,028 people were seen using active transportation in Jackson throughout the length of the survey. The number by each road name below represents the total number of people using active transportation in one day on that road (total for morning, noon, and evening time periods). See Appendix H for a comparison of traffic counts on each road with active transportation numbers on the same road.
Bike Surface: One of the most important outcomes of the study was discovering that a very high percentage (71%) of bicyclists in Jackson rode on the sidewalk instead of the road or bike lane. Although not a law in the city of Jackson, bicycles are much safer on the street.4,5,6 One study in the late 1990’s found that the relative danger of riding on the sidewalks was much higher than riding on the street even without bike lanes or signs.4 The table below shows that sidewalks are the most dangerous at a relative danger of 16.34, roads without bike facilities (like most in the Jackson survey) are less dangerous ranging from .66-.94 and roads with on-street bike lanes are the least dangerous with a relative danger of .41. From this it is clear that riding on the road is by far the safest surface to travel even without bike lanes.
Riding on the sidewalk against traffic and failing to stop or yield at intersections are the most significant causes of bicycle/motor vehicle crashes.5 However, a recent study found bicyclists using roads with bike lanes were less likely to ride on the sidewalk, were less likely to ride against the flow of traffic and were more likely to obey stop signs and signals—solving both of the common causes for accidents.5
The results seem to hold true here in Jackson as well. On streets with bike lanes in Jackson the percentage of riders choosing the sidewalk decreased. For example both Jackson Street and Ganson Street have bike lanes and bike lane usage was 26% and sidewalk usage was 62% for 43 cyclists. By comparison Francis Street only has a bike lane on part of the street had only 9% use the bike lane and 72% use the sidewalks (68 cyclists total). Finally neither Cooper Street and Michigan Avenue (35 cyclists) or Franklin Street and West Avenue (51 cyclists) have bike lanes on either road and the percentage of sidewalk usage for cyclists is even higher.
Based on the observations, bike lanes (one of the safest ways for bicyclists to travel in the city) seem to be helping move people who are scared of riding in the road off of the sidewalk (one of the most dangerous spots for bicyclists).
Helmet Use: Another important outcome was a snapshot of helmet use in Jackson, especially among youth. Of the 215 children under-20 observed bicycling; only nine were wearing a helmet. Despite the best efforts of a variety of agencies giving away free helmets to children in Jackson each year, the study saw little evidence that children were wearing the helmets. At the same time only 23 adults of the 159 observed riding bicycles were wearing a helmet, showing that adults also aren’t modeling the preferred behavior to children. Action needs to be taken to assess whether children do not have access to helmets or there is a need to address the gap between a children receiving a helmet and choosing to wear it.
Travel Direction: Besides observations mentioned above, another benefit of having volunteers sitting at the locations (versus a mechanical counter) was the ability to record information about the travel direction of bicyclists. At each location volunteers reported that bicyclists were traveling against the flow of traffic on the road and bike lane. Bicyclists in the road have the same rights and responsibilities of other vehicles on the road and even in bike lanes should be traveling with traffic. The need for education about proper cycling patterns and use of the bike lanes is an important additional outcome of this study.
Considerations in Interpreting the Data
All volunteers mentioned that they were surprised by the number of people walking and biking around Jackson and thought the number would be much lower. Unfortunately, a lack of volunteers reduced the original twenty locations in the city to ten survey locations. A more complete picture of activity in Jackson could have been seen with more locations. In addition, there was some variability with data recording between volunteers despite instruction. Some of the issues were resolved by one reviewer
examining all the data and standardizing entries where appropriate. Finally, since the survey was done in August, several construction projects were being completed in Jackson. The most significant was Fourth Street being closed north of Greenwood Avenue. This may have affected the results of the Intercity Trail and Fourth Street location a great deal.
The use of active transportation is a visible part of Jackson at each of the locations surveyed and several of the findings will be helpful both in prioritizing money for future projects and designing education campaigns to encourage active transportation and safety.
Walking and biking were by far the most popular forms of active transportation. Francis Street was observed during the morning and noon time periods only and although no data was obtained for the evening time period it was still the street with the most active travelers. Greenwood had the next highest number of active people observed in the survey. When prioritizing pedestrian and bicycling projects in the city areas of high current use should take priority over projects with a low number of current pedestrians and bicyclists. This way safety is improved in areas that affect the highest number of people first.
In addition, evidence suggests that the City should continue to invest in creating bike lanes and signing bike routes. Even based on the limited data to date there seems to be a positive impact because the bike lanes are moving people off the sidewalk and onto the street where it is safer for bicyclists to ride and more likely they will obey traffic signals. As the bicyclist population continues to grow in Jackson, these types of amenities are important to maintain the safety of bicyclists. Creating the bike amenities alone won’t help everyone use the bike lanes however, an educational campaign highlighting the safety of the lanes and importance of using them needs to be launched as well. A combination of education and more bike lanes will further reduce the number of adults on the sidewalk to a more acceptable level.
The study revealed the need for two other educational campaigns as well. The need to either increase the availability of helmets or convert the availability of helmets to actually wearing helmets is very high especially in children, but also in adults. Focus needs to be placed on this important safety issue soon. In addition, more education is needed about the appropriate use of the bike lanes and biking in general. Many bicyclists were seen traveling against traffic and not obeying traffic signals, both activities that create a higher risk for automobile/bicycle accidents.
The study should be repeated at the same ten locations, at the same times, using the same methods every other year. Survey results from future years will be even more important as trends in active transportation use, bike lane usage, and helmet usage emerge. These are important indicators for all groups working on active transportation issues in Jackson.
References
1. US Department of Transportation. Pedestrian and Bicycle Data Collection in United States Communities, Chapel Hill, NC: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center; 2005.
2. Greenway Collaborative. Bicycle Count Tally Sheet, Ann Arbor, MI: 2003.
3. Michigan State University Excel Spreadsheet Tool, Evan Jordan 2005.
4. Moritz, WE. Adult Bicyclists in the United States: Characteristics and Riding Experience in 1996. Transportation Research Record 1636. 1998; 98-0009: 1-7.
5. US Department of Transportation. Bicycles Lanes Versus Wide Curb Lanes: Operational and Safety Findings and Countermeasure Recommendations, McLean, VA: Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center; 1999.
6. Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center website; FAQ’s Bicycle Facilities, www.bicyclinginfo.org; retrieved November 2005.
7. Bauman, KE. (1980). Research Methods for Community Health and Welfare. New York: Oxford University Press.
8. Personal Communication, Walkable Communities Task Force, July 2005.
9. Personal Communication, City of Jackson Department of Engineering, July 21, 2005.