Empirical Insights into Rural Bicycle Facility Design: A User-Centered Approach to Define Level of Traffic Stress Criteria

Abstract

Bicycle level of traffic stress (LTS) establishes criteria to evaluate how comfortable or stressful a cycling facility is for riders, and this framework is used to assess cycling suitability across different cyclist types. Most prior studies have relied on literature reviews and expert opinions, with limited attention given to rural highways. Further, they follow a pre-defined segmentation of cyclists and, therefore, are subject to the bias of self-reporting on that scale. This study addresses these gaps by presenting an empirical approach to developing LTS criteria specific to rural contexts using the entire distribution of taste parameters.

To understand when cycling conditions are unsuitable, were gathered responses from 982 participants via an online survey. Using vignette-based experiments, respondents identified preferred cycling conditions, enabling the derivation of individual-level parameters for each roadway attribute. The analysis revealed that self-reported cyclist classifications inadequately captured the variability in preferences in the rural context.