Do cycling infrastructures reduce urban cyclists stress? A multinational study

• Grant number: 17/26280-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): March 31, 2018
• Effective date (End): August 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Transportation Engineering - Transportation Planning
• Principal researcher: Antonio Nelson Rodrigues da Silva
• Grantee: Inaian Pignatti Teixeira
• Supervisor abroad: Tim Schwanen
• Home Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Oxford, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/04460-7 - Perspectives and challenges to promote cycling infrastructure, BP.PD

Abstract

Characteristics of cycling infrastructures, such as nearby motorized traffic, on-street parking, and bicycle facilities, can affect the quality of trips. The causes of discomfort are associated with stress situations, which are usually related with safety and security issues. Moreover, stress along the route can be generated by several reasons and may reveal problems of planning and operation of the bicycle infrastructures. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of cycling infrastructure on noise exposure and stress on Brazilian, English and Dutch cyclists. Furthermore, we will investigate if distinct types of cycling infrastructures can result in different effects on stress and noise exposure. Facilities located on streets with different hierarchical levels and in different countries and contexts will be studied. The analysis will involve 98 subjects, who will carry a smartband and a mobile noise sensor while riding a bike through predefined routes. Participants will be recruited from seven cities: São Paulo, São Carlos (Brazil); London, Oxford (United Kingdom) and Amsterdam, Houten, Groningen (Netherlands). The route definition will be based on types of cycling infrastructures (e.g., segregated or non-segregated cyclepaths) and street hierarchy (e.g., arterial, collector or local roads), stratified by city. The following data shall be collected: stress levels (based on electrodermal response activity), noise levels, video recordings, GPS and performance data, and socio-demographics and general cycling behaviour and attitudes. After a familiarization phase, the experiment will be divided in four stages: resting phase; test ride; recovery phase; and application of socio-demographics and cycling behaviour and attitudes questionnaire. A hierarchical Poisson regression between the dependent variable (stress) and independent variables shall be used for data analysis.