ScienceDirect - Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice : Designing a route... - 0 views
-
Ihering Alcoforado on 19 Nov 11Designing a route planner to facilitate and promote cycling in Metro Vancouver, Canada Jason G. Sua, b, , Meghan Wintersc, , Melissa Nunesb, , Michael Brauerb, , Purchase a Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA b School of Environmental Health, The University of British Columbia, 3[rd] Floor, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 c School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, 5804 Fairview Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 Received 10 July 2008; revised 28 February 2010; Accepted 19 March 2010. Available online 7 May 2010. Abstract With increasing fuel costs, greater awareness of greenhouse gas emissions and increasing obesity levels, cycling is promoted as a health promoting and sustainable transport mode. We developed a cycling route planner (http://cyclevancouver.ubc.ca) for Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to facilitate cycling amongst the general public and to facilitate new route location by transportation planners. The geographical information system-based planner incorporates variables that influence choices to travel by bicycle (e.g., distance, elevation gain, safety, route features, air pollution and links to transit) in selecting the preferred routing. Using a familiar and user-friendly Google Maps interface, the planner allows individuals to seek optimized cycling routes throughout the region based on their own preferences. In addition to the incorporation of multiple user preferences in route selection, the planner is unique amongst cycling route planners in its use of topology to minimize data storage redundancy, its reliance on node/vertex index tables to increase efficiency of the route selection process, and the use of web services and asynchronous technologies for quick data delivery. Use of this tool can help promote bicycle travel as a form of active transportation and help lower greenhouse