Using insights from recent article about improving bike infrastructure in Paris

[katoss]

Hey, in one of our last meetings @ryanrakusin introduced a recently published article about a new method to assess bike infrastructure quality using open data + Paris as a case study. I think it would be great to summarize insights from this paper, and to see if and in which ways this could be interesting for us (especially because they use open, spatial data).

Here is the link: Where to improve cycling infrastructure? Assessing bicycle suitability and bikeability with open data in the city of Paris.

I assigned @ryanrakusin because he introduced the paper, but of course everyone interested can participate:)

I have read the article and have some thoughts about it (e.g. the introduction of 30km/h limits has big impact on the results of the model. They still use data with the 50km limit). Will try to take notes in the next days. Would be interesting to discuss it further!

[operte]

To build an attributed network we merged the street network derived from OSM, after removing e.g. footpaths, motorways, with the attribute information contained in the Apur dataset using OSM IDs. [...] The resulting dense cycling network consists of 25’197 edges (street segments) and 17’073 nodes. A new street segment is defined at every intersection or where cycling infrastructure changes and contains information on street characteristics such as speed limit (derived from OSM attributes) and the type of infrastructure provided (based on Apur data).

We could replicate this method if we wanted to try out what @Liyubov proposes in #18

One final limitation is important. Our work describes the state of infrastructure in a city in the form of suitability, and then uses this suitability to model bikeability across a large urban centre. The approach is designed to give an overview at the city and neighbourhood level, based on a reproducible method which models both suitability of cycling infrastructure, and its relationship with a meaningful accessibility model. It does not however replace local knowledge which is an essential component of detailed planning of cycling infrastructure.

I like this comment, very much in line with the previous studies that the City of Paris purchased for picking exact bike parking locations :)

[Liyubov]

Yes there is more research on this for other cities, which @ryanrakusin and others spotted. The article is good catch, maybe to test with new data, simplify their results and show them to City hall could be a good idea.

[katoss]

Closed because we already presented the highlights from the article in a meeting with the city