Towards an enriched framework of service evaluation for pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure: acknowledging the power of users’ perceptions

More and more cities worldwide are striving for sustainability and livability. Measuring the service or performance of local-scale spaces for pedestrians and bicyclists to better understand how to provide “walkable” and “bikeable” environments is key in this endeavor to enhance active transportation. These pedestrian and bicycle service or performance indicators, such as Level of Traffic Stress or Level of Service, relate measurable characteristics with a perceived proxy of the performance or service, such as comfort, satisfaction, or quality of service (QoS). The purpose of this study is to propose and validate a framework that integrates user-oriented inputs to the existing traditional supply-oriented variables to explain the QoS in segment roadways in urban environments for active modes. The conceptual framework underlying this study considers the contribution of individual perceptions, in addition to the traditionally considered operational and geometry variables, to explain the perceived QoS of pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure. The framework is tested via two separate and independent surveys for pedestrians and bicyclists. Evidence determined the relative importance of these supply-oriented and user-oriented factors to explain the QoS. The superior explanatory power of the perception variables and in terms of the variables that explain the individuals’ perceived QoS justify the framework for both pedestrians and bicyclists.