Considering space syntax in bicycle traffic assignment with one or more user classes

Modeling bicycle traffic assignment requires consideration of the various factors and criteria that could play a role in a cyclist’s route decision-making process. However, existing studies on bicycle route choice analysis tend to overlook the less tangible or measurable aspects of cyclist route decision-making, such as a cyclist’s cognitive understanding of the network and a cyclist’s biking experience. This study explores the applicability of space syntax as a route cognitive attribute in a bicycle traffic assignment model. Since space syntax is a tool that links urban spatial layout to human movement, the results of a space syntax model can be used as a cognitive attribute for modeling bicycle movements with explicit consideration of the cognitive complexities of navigating through the environment. In developing a bicycle traffic assignment model, we considered relevant attributes such as route cognition, distance, and safety and integrated multiple user class analysis to reflect different biking experience levels. Numerical experiments using the Winnipeg network are conducted to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed bicycle traffic assignment model with one or more user classes.