Sponsor
This research was funded by the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, or NITC, a program of TREC at Portland State University.
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
12-2014
Subjects
Air -- Pollution -- Health aspects -- Oregon -- Portland, Cyclists -- Health and hygiene -- Oregon -- Portland, Automobiles -- Motors -- Exhaust gas -- Health aspects -- Oregon -- Portland
Abstract
While bicyclists and other active travelers obtain health benefits from increased physical activity, they also risk an uptake of traffic-related air pollution. But pollution exposure for urban bicyclists is not well understood due to a lack of direct measurements and insufficient analysis of the determinants of exposure. This knowledge gap impedes pollution-conscious transportation planning, design, and health impact assessment. The research presented in this report generates new connections between transportation system characteristics and pollution exposure for bicyclists. The primary research questions are: 1) How does urban bicyclists’ exposure to air pollution vary with roadway and travel characteristics? and 2) To what extent can transportation-related strategies reduce exposure? Novel methods to collect and integrate bicycle, rider, traffic, and environmental data are also introduced. Bicyclist exposure concentrations and travel characteristics were collected on a wide range of facilities in Portland, OR. High-resolution trajectory and pollution data were then integrated with roadway and traffic data. Models of exposure were estimated from the on-road data. Important new quantifications in the models include the effects of facility type, average daily traffic (ADT), stop-and-go conditions, and industrial corridors on multi-pollutant exposure. Findings from this research and the literature are distilled so that they can be incorporated into bicycle network design guidelines.
DOI
10.15760/trec.121
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15962
Citation Details
Pankow, James, Figliozzi, Miguel, and Bigazzi, Alexander. Evaluation of Bicyclists Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollution along Distinct Facility Types. NITC-RR-560. Portland, OR: Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.15760/trec.121
Description
This is a final report, NITC-RR-560, from the NITC program of TREC at Portland State University, and can be found online at: http://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/research/project/560
The project brief can be found here: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16774