PRACTICAL MONITORING OF CYCLING

1. Transport Practitioners’ Meeting 2006 PRACTICAL MONITORING OF CYCLING Mark Strong Transport Initiatives LLP Transport Initiatives LLP Office 4 145 Islingword Road Brighton BN2 9SH 0845 345 7623 www.transport-initiatives.com

2. Summary • Paper based on work by Transport Initiatives for Essex County Council reviewing locations for bicycle monitoring in five towns in the county • Brief review of cycle monitoring research and techniques • Use of manual and automatic methods including Automatic Cycle Counters (ACCs) • Process for establishing a good cycle monitoring programme • Examples of sites

3. Why monitor? • Trends – to detect changes and trends in cycle usage over time • Baseline – to establish a starting point for use in target setting and comparison with future surveys • Information – to provide details on the levels and characteristics of cycling • Scheme-related – to investigate the effect on cycling of new measures such as cycling schemes or changes in policy

4. Why monitor? • And especially to measure progress against LTP targets But remember: monitoring is only a proxy for real levels of cycling since much cycling happens when or where there is no counting

5. Background • Cycle monitoring techniques differ widely between local authorities • Authorities must use existing research and best practice to set up a monitoring strategy • But most general guidance for traffic monitoring uses information based on research into motor vehicles flows • Key study in 1999 by TRL gives some guidance on monitoring D G Davies, P Emmerson & A Pedlar, Transport Research Laboratory (1999) “TRL 395 – Guidance on monitoring local cycle use”

6. Good monitoring requires large sample sizes and survey conditions to be controlled • These requirements have generally not been met for cycle monitoring in the UK: • Manual surveys generally carried out without controlled conditions (or even record of conditions) • Counts often in locations with very low cycle flows. • Most findings more valuable as a ‘snapshot’ of cycling than measurement of long-term trends

7. Implications of TRL research • Number of “counting periods” depends on a range of factors, especially estimated levels of cycle use • Sites with 100-250 cyclists/day require at least 15 periods to detect an annual change of 20% (i.e. 250% increase in cycling over 5 years) • e.g. Essex County Council LTP target is 160% - number of count periods required is approx: • 30 for sites with >250 cyclists/day • 50 for sites with 100-250 • over 100 for sites with <100 cyclists/day.

8. No theoretical reason why this level of monitoring could not be carried out using manual surveys • But practical reasons of cost rule it out • In practice statistically robust cycle monitoring requires the use of ACCs to: • give continuous data on cycle flows • provide sufficient count periods to establish a robust trend even allowing for errors or malfunctions

9. Guidance (or lack of it) • Little or no guidance on the number of counters required in an area to provide robust data • TRL study recommends that authorities should install “at least one, and preferably several” ACCs (but no definition of “several”) • No distinction between different sizes and types of authorities or areas • No guidance on how large authorities such as shire counties can determine trends in cycling in towns or other discrete areas

10. Local authority examples

11. Monitoring techniques • Automatic Cycle Counters (ACCs) • Accurate, robust, relatively cheap • Problems: • Coincidence • Failure to cross the counting device • False positives • No details about demographics of cyclists or nature of journey • Manual monitoring • Interviews • Destination surveys

12. ACC methods • Inductive Loop • Most widespread method • But problems!

13. Types of ACC • Radar • Infra-red • Piezoelectric tube • Video/CCTV

14. Suggested good practice • Empirically-based model for good practice in the provision of ACCs for settlements of different sizes • Range to allow for local variation, e.g. density of network or specific section of route • Ratios may seem high but should be balanced against other areas with little or no provision • Model not intended to be used to set the overall level of ACCs across whole county (made up of dispersed settlements of varying sizes) or large cities of >400,000

15. Suggested level of provision

16. Manual monitoring • Traditional method for monitoring cycling levels • As discussed, not appropriate for establishing long-term trends mainly due to the costs • However still has a number of functions: • Calibration of ACCs • More detailed information on a range of characteristics e.g. gender or age • Counts at short notice • Counts at complex sites, including details of turning movements

17. TRL recommendations for manual monitoring

18. Existing situation in Essex • 2005 Essex Traffic Monitoring Report - 17 ACCs (plus 3 ACCs not used by Essex - district, Sustrans etc.) • Monitored for 2 weeks every quarter – only just statistically valid • Average daily cycle flows from 38 to 339 • Plus manual counts on 3 yearly basis (9 – 250 cyclists) • Month changed from Sept to Aug between counts!

19. Study methodology • Desk assessment & site visits • Factors for site choice: • Location on a cycle route • Ability to differentiate cycle traffic from motorised vehicle traffic • Locations where relatively high cycle flows occur or might be expected to occur in the future • Points where cyclists are channelled in some way and hence cannot avoid crossing the detection zone (or could be channelled e.g. ASL) • General comments on cycling also made

20. Prioritisation • Based on site visits and suggested number of ACCs in each town • Sites plotted on GIS • Three levels of priority: • Priority 1 Core network of ACCs for LTP baseline • Priority 2 Increasedlevel of monitoring of cycling, to be installed if funds permit • Priority 3 Optional sites, to be used to determine level of cycling on specific routes • NB recommended sites located to pick up main expected cycle flows hence not necessarily evenly distributed

21. Case study - Colchester • Historic town in the east of Essex • Population of around 156,000 • Currently 5 ACCs • 1 counter was not functional at the time of inspection for at least a year due to construction works

22. Colchester Existing sites

23. Colchester Blue – proposed ACC Green – other (manual count) 15 potential new sites

24. Colchester

25. Colchester - recommendations • Recommended minimum of 11 ACCs in Colchester i.e. an increase of 6 • Non-functioning ACC on route to Wivenhoe should be replaced • Possible extra site on cycle track in the residential development on former hospital site but MUST be in conjunction with improvements to track • Total number of new counters required would therefore be 7 • Improved cycle parking at station and regular (monthly) monitoring

26. Strategic recommendations • Frequency of monitoring a minimum of two weeks in every month (giving 168 days’ counts each year), and ideally continuous • All sites to be visited regularly on a six-monthly basis • ACCs with very low, erratic or static patterns of usage should be visited as soon as possible

27. Strategic recommendations • If ACC site is affected by development, provision of a replacement must form part of planning conditions / S106 agreement • Minor sites on one-for-one basis • Major sites should include sufficient ACCs to monitor cycling levels as a result of the travel plan associated with development • All ACCs provided as part of development should be installed as early as possible, ideally before the commencement of works

28. Detailed recommendations • 24 new counters • Additional 4 counters replaced or relocated • New total of 41 counters across the county as a whole (including the 4 sites not covered by this study) • New level of provision in Essex would lie in the centre of the range of good practice (32 counters / million population) • Approx capital cost £90,000

29. Detailed recommendations

30. Detailed recommendations • All sites to use either inductive loops or radar units with standard counting equipment • If inductive loops used these must extend the full width of the surface that might be used by cycles • Precise location of ACC site to be determined after discussions with the counter supplier or manufacturer

31. Detailed recommendations • Regular programme of counting cycles parked at stations and other key destinations should be introduced • Existing programme of manual surveys should be replaced by a more focused programme to support ACC network and provide detail on cycling journey characteristics • Roadside interviews of cyclists should be established in the five main towns to establish a baseline split for trip purposes

32. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Basildon Loop on cycle side only (by secondary school)

33. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Basildon Eastern end of link to town centre from Westgate

34. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Basildon Cycle track at hospital

35. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Braintree Install ASLs to channel cyclists

36. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford ACC sited on path to left of new access road leading to low counts

37. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford ACC sited on closed path through University campus

38. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford Chelmer Park

39. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford Loop on one side of path only

40. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford ACC to be sited at railway bridge (route to University)

41. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford ACC to be sited on shared use path by Leisure Centre

42. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Chelmsford Monthly manual surveys at station

43. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Colchester Two counters in Castle Park

44. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Colchester Former location of ACC on Wivenhoe Trail(ringed)

45. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Colchester North Bridge cycle lanes

46. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Colchester Bus/taxi/cycle lane at edge of town centre

47. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Harlow ASDA underpass

48. Examples of existing and proposed sites • Harlow Priority crossing at entrance to hospital

49. Problems of success!