Uphill Battle: Understanding and Addressing Barriers to Bicycling

In order for localities to increase the number of cyclists, they must understand why people do not bike and target their bicycle plans accordingly. Traditional transportation plans too often overlook the general public’s perception of barriers and instead work only with experts to improve the locality’s infrastructure. Recent bicycle plans, however, have begun to investigate the underlying reasons of why people do not bike. A successful bicycle plan surveys both frequent cyclists and infrequent cyclists to understand perception of barriers, identifies what gaps exist in local bicycle infrastructure, and responds to this information by creating both educational and infrastructure solutions to increase bicycling mode-share. This thesis will provide an overview of current bicycle use in the US, explore barriers to bicycling, examine two cities that have successfully increased their bicycle mode share, and finally, present a methodology for bicycle planning that can be applied to cities at large.