The purpose of this study is to examine the rationale for greener transportation in Nanaimo, by comparing studies in various cities. This study will focus primarily the growing demand for the implementation of bike lanes, and the challenges/benefits they would bring to the table. Many larger cities are thriving with more and more environmentally friendly modes of transpiration being introduced; this study will examine the usage of bike lanes in smaller cities, and seek the benefits of implementing similar modes of transportation in a city like Nanaimo. This study will also explore factors that encourage and discourage the general public from utilizing alternative means of transportation.
Nanaimo is slowly growing, with students travelling from
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Unfortunately, many citizens steer clear of street cycling due to safety concerns about riding alongside traffic. In the U.S. cycling is becoming increasingly popular, but many cities face the same issues as Canadians. Studies are showing evidence that citizens want to cycle, but choose not to out of fear. “60% of Americans say they would bike more often if they had a safe place, such as a green lane, to ride. This was validated by a recent study in Washington, DC, that revealed bicycling increased 200% on Pennsylvania Avenue after green lanes were installed” (Green Bike Lanes Double in 2012, …show more content…
Cycling is the obvious choice when it comes to overall health of people and the planet, but smaller cities are lacking road space, which creates yet another obstacle. An article on the implementation of a bike lane in a city called San Angelo described the most cost effective way of putting in a separate bike lane to reduce traffic accidents, and create shorter routes. The study uses graph theory to describe the implementation of bike lanes, "when an urban area or a road network is represented by a graph, the arcs represent the stretches of one-way streets and the edges those two-way. The vertices are the intersections that allow passage of a street section to another. However, a graph is a more general structure than an urban network” (Barwaldt, M. S., Franzin, R. d. F., Casarin, V. A., & Santos, A. V. d. 2014, p.