A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto

This study uses Strava bicycling data to investigate network level patterns of bicycle ridership in Toronto, Canada based on Level of Traffic Stress (LTS). We found that most bicycling occurred on a small fraction of the network, with just 10% of all roads and paths accounting for 75% of all bicycle...

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Main Authors: Amreen A. Imrit, Jaimy Fischer, Timothy C. Y. Chan, Shoshanna Saxe, Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Findings Press 2024-01-01
Series:Findings
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.32866/001c.92109
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author Amreen A. Imrit
Jaimy Fischer
Timothy C. Y. Chan
Shoshanna Saxe
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher
author_facet Amreen A. Imrit
Jaimy Fischer
Timothy C. Y. Chan
Shoshanna Saxe
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher
author_sort Amreen A. Imrit
collection DOAJ
description This study uses Strava bicycling data to investigate network level patterns of bicycle ridership in Toronto, Canada based on Level of Traffic Stress (LTS). We found that most bicycling occurred on a small fraction of the network, with just 10% of all roads and paths accounting for 75% of all bicycle kilometres travelled in 2022. Low-stress routes (LTS 1 and LTS 2) were more popular than high-stress routes for the top 80% most popular streets. The majority of bicycle kilometres travelled (84%) in LTS 2 occurred on routes with no bicycle infrastructure, highlighting the importance of quiet residential streets in forming a low-stress bike network. Despite high-stress conditions, some LTS 3 and LTS 4 streets were heavily used, suggesting infrastructure gaps in Toronto's bicycle network.
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spelling doaj-art-863ec751ecb94b148dc9896db9d62a9a2025-08-20T02:40:10ZengFindings PressFindings2652-88002024-01-0110.32866/001c.92109A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in TorontoAmreen A. ImritJaimy FischerTimothy C. Y. ChanShoshanna SaxeMadeleine Bonsma-FisherThis study uses Strava bicycling data to investigate network level patterns of bicycle ridership in Toronto, Canada based on Level of Traffic Stress (LTS). We found that most bicycling occurred on a small fraction of the network, with just 10% of all roads and paths accounting for 75% of all bicycle kilometres travelled in 2022. Low-stress routes (LTS 1 and LTS 2) were more popular than high-stress routes for the top 80% most popular streets. The majority of bicycle kilometres travelled (84%) in LTS 2 occurred on routes with no bicycle infrastructure, highlighting the importance of quiet residential streets in forming a low-stress bike network. Despite high-stress conditions, some LTS 3 and LTS 4 streets were heavily used, suggesting infrastructure gaps in Toronto's bicycle network.https://doi.org/10.32866/001c.92109
spellingShingle Amreen A. Imrit
Jaimy Fischer
Timothy C. Y. Chan
Shoshanna Saxe
Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher
A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
Findings
title A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
title_full A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
title_fullStr A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
title_full_unstemmed A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
title_short A Street-Specific Analysis of Level of Traffic Stress Trends in Strava Bicycle Ridership and its Implications for Low-Stress Bicycling Routes in Toronto
title_sort street specific analysis of level of traffic stress trends in strava bicycle ridership and its implications for low stress bicycling routes in toronto
url https://doi.org/10.32866/001c.92109
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