A Comparative Study of Bikeability Index and CycleRAP in Examining Urban Cycling Facilities

Abstract

This study conducts a comparative analysis of the Bikeability Index (BI) and CycleRAP in assessing urban cycling infrastructure. The BI, developed in previous research, evaluates cycling conditions through a user-centric framework incorporating safety, comfort, attractiveness, directness, and coherence. In contrast, CycleRAP employs a data-driven methodology focusing on safety by assessing crash risks and severity across different cycling facilities. Using field data and online tools, this research applies both methods to bicycle infrastructure in Hasselt, Belgium, comparing their results and evaluating their alignment in identifying safety concerns and infrastructure needs. A significant correlation between BI and CycleRAP scores was observed, indicating that a higher bikeability score corresponds to reduced safety risks measured by CycleRAP. The study highlights the complementary nature of the two tools, emphasizing the broader insights of the BI and the focused safety evaluations of CycleRAP. The BI safety score extracted from the BI equation showed an even stronger correlation with CycleRAP, suggesting that despite using different methodologies, both indices can yield similar results. These findings provide meaningful guidance for urban planners seeking to enhance cycling infrastructure safety.