The Critical Importance of Bicycle Infrastructure to Public Health

The lead editorial in the December issue of American Journal of Public Health provides the introduction for two research papers on the relationship between bicycling safety and infrastructure expansion in Boston and Vision Zero in U.S. and Sweden.

3 minute read

November 15, 2016, 7:00 AM PST

By Irvin Dawid

Parker Knight / Flickr

American cities that have adopted Vision Zero goals for walking and biking have their work cut out. Compared to other advanced nations, it's undeniable that cycling in the United States is less safe.

According to a study last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths and injuries, associated with an increase in bicycling activity, have risen among older Americans, just as a reduction in juvenile deaths is related to a reduction in that group's cycling.

What's more, some studies have inferred blame lies with cyclists themselves, e.g., cyclists failing to use bike lights and helmets.

Thus, it's refreshing to read what urban planners have to report on this critical topic in next month's issue of the American Journal of Public Health. As many cyclists and planners know, while the use of bike lights, helmets, and reflective clothing is important, it is the design of cycling facilities that is paramount.

"Traffic safety experts now use the term 'crashes' instead of 'accidents' to emphasize that the design of the transportation system contributes to most traffic fatalities and injuries," write John Pucher, Professor Emeritus, Urban Planning, Rutgers University and Ralph Buehler, Professor of Urban Affairs & Planning, Virginia Tech. The two present hard data that may lead some ardent cyclists to consider migrating abroad.

Controlling for exposure levels, cyclist fatalities in 2010 per 100 million kilometers cycled were 4.7 in the United States versus 1.0 in the Netherlands, 1.1 in Denmark, and 1.3 in Germany.¹

The editorial introduces two full-length research articles in the Dec 2016 issue of AJPH focusing on cycling safety that are fully accessible:

AJPH Research: Bicycle Use and Cyclist Safety Following Boston’s Bicycle Infrastructure Expansion, 2009–2012, December 2016
AJPH Research: Vision Zero in the United States Versus Sweden: Infrastructure Improvement for Cycling Safety, December 2016

Pucher and Buehler present detailed data on trends in cycling safety for 10 cities, looking at the relationship between the increase in bike lane miles, bicycle trips, crashes, and fatalities and injuries between 2000 and 2015.

TABLE 1— Better Bicycle Infrastructure, Improved Cyclist Safety, and Increased Cycling

City	Years	Growth in Bikeway Network,^a %	Growth in Bicycle Trips, %	Change in Crashes per 100 000 Trips, %	Change in Fatalities and Severe Injuries per 100 000 Trips,%
Portland, OR	2000–2015	53	391	−62	−72
Washington, DC	2000–2015	101	384	−46	−50
New York, NY	2000–2015	381	207	NA	−72
Minneapolis, MN	2000–2015	113	203	−75	−79
San Francisco, CA	2000–2015	172	167	−36	NA
Cambridge, MA	2000–2015	27	134	−57	NA
Chicago, IL	2005–2015	135	167	−54	−60
Seattle, WA	2005–2015	236	123	−25	−53
Los Angeles, CA	2005–2015	130	114	NA	−43
Philadelphia, PA	2008–2015	17	51	NA

Courtesy of American Journal of Public Health

Like the National Safety Council, research is based on data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, particularly from their injury statistics website, WISQARS, which indicates that in 2014, there were 902 cyclist fatalities and 35 206 serious cyclist injuries (requiring hospitalization).

Planetizen also posts traffic fatality reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which uses the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) run by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Hat tip to John Holtzclaw

Correspondent's notes on related Planetizen posts:

Studies on bicycle injuries and fatalities: Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998-2013 (September 2015)
Bicycle fatalities, 1975–2012, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (August 2015)
Two posts on a controversial GHSA bicycle fatalities report, 2010-2012 (November 2014 and October 2014)

FULL STORY: Safer Cycling Through Improved Infrastructure

Thursday, November 10, 2016 in American Journal Of Public Health

Infrastructure Transportation Europe United States Massachusetts Boston Sweden Bike Infrastructure Bicycle Injuries Bike Safety Crashes are not Accidents Editorial FARS Public Health Vision Zero WISQARS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Rutgers University Virginia Tech Ralph Buehler John Pucher View More

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

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