A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA

Bike-friendly cities offer scores of benefits to both individuals and society, but a lack of safety is a major barrier to ridership. Significant research has been devoted to studying demographic drivers of ridership and what makes individuals feel unsafe on a bicycle, but there is lack of research...

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Main Authors: Matthew Haffner, Nathan Walker, Savanna Grunzke, Matthew St. Ores
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ERSA 2024-12-01
Series:REGION
Online Access:https://openjournals.wu.ac.at/ojs/index.php/region/article/view/480
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author Matthew Haffner
Nathan Walker
Savanna Grunzke
Matthew St. Ores
author_facet Matthew Haffner
Nathan Walker
Savanna Grunzke
Matthew St. Ores
author_sort Matthew Haffner
collection DOAJ
description Bike-friendly cities offer scores of benefits to both individuals and society, but a lack of safety is a major barrier to ridership. Significant research has been devoted to studying demographic drivers of ridership and what makes individuals feel unsafe on a bicycle, but there is lack of research utilizing quantitative approaches on spatial perceptions of safety, particularly with respect to gender. This paper seeks to close that gap using a crowd sourcing approach to spatial data collection, statistical comparisons of cycling behavior by gender, and spatial analyses of mapped points. The authors find parity between women and men in terms of number of trips taken per week but find significant differences in the spatial extent of mapped responses. This paper adds to academic discussions on cycling safety and sheds light on specific locations that could benefit from infrastructure improvements.
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spelling doaj-art-dce9e70c5e754a02a944904f11b1f6bf2025-08-20T02:58:23ZengERSAREGION2409-53702024-12-0111210.18335/region.v11i2.480A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USAMatthew Haffner0Nathan Walker1Savanna Grunzke2Matthew St. Ores3University of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireSouthern Illinois University EdwardsvilleUniversity of Wisconsin - Eau ClaireUniversity of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Bike-friendly cities offer scores of benefits to both individuals and society, but a lack of safety is a major barrier to ridership. Significant research has been devoted to studying demographic drivers of ridership and what makes individuals feel unsafe on a bicycle, but there is lack of research utilizing quantitative approaches on spatial perceptions of safety, particularly with respect to gender. This paper seeks to close that gap using a crowd sourcing approach to spatial data collection, statistical comparisons of cycling behavior by gender, and spatial analyses of mapped points. The authors find parity between women and men in terms of number of trips taken per week but find significant differences in the spatial extent of mapped responses. This paper adds to academic discussions on cycling safety and sheds light on specific locations that could benefit from infrastructure improvements. https://openjournals.wu.ac.at/ojs/index.php/region/article/view/480
spellingShingle Matthew Haffner
Nathan Walker
Savanna Grunzke
Matthew St. Ores
A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
REGION
title A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
title_full A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
title_fullStr A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
title_full_unstemmed A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
title_short A spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions: A case study in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA
title_sort spatial and demographic analysis of cycling safety perceptions a case study in eau claire wisconsin usa
url https://openjournals.wu.ac.at/ojs/index.php/region/article/view/480
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