Rule compliance and desire lines in Barcelona’s cycling network

ABSTRACT

A major challenge in the development of new cycling infrastructure is the design of intersections that are safe, appropriately used, and inclusive. In this paper we study how cyclists interact with existing street design at intersections in Barcelona. We observed rule compliance (n = 5,063) and desire lines (n = 5,082) at six intersections over 12 weekdays. We find that 78.9% of cyclists comply with intersection rules. Rule incompliance is associated with the gender of the cyclists, the directionality of the bike lanes that intersect, traffic signals, and performing a turn. Our analysis of desire lines through the intersections illustrate that incompliant behavior is driven by a need for uninterrupted travel, and highlight systemic and design features that contribute to incompliance. We suggest ways to improve intersection design and safety: i) prioritize unidirectional bike lanes; ii) optimize traffic lights, and; iii) anticipate cyclists’ desired trajectories when designing new cycling infrastructure.

KEYWORDS:

• Bicycle
• design
• desire lines
• infrastructure
• safety
• Spain

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Oscar Mauricio Chamat Nuñez for his commitment to this project, for connecting us to city staff, and supporting us with critical feedback in all stages of the research. The authors thank Robert Martinez Varderi for his support in data collection and for reviewing an earlier draft of the manuscript. We also thank Morten Elle for providing research guidance and expertise, Joan Valls Fantova for valuable insights regarding the intersection design in Barcelona, and Fabricio Bonilla Pacheco for support in data collection.

AL acknowledges the financial support from the Joint European Master in Environmental Studies – Cities & Sustainability (JEMES CiSu) and EC acknowledges the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (MDM-2015-0552) and (MdM-2019-0940).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

Upon publication, the data will be made available on an online repository.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Maria de Maestu [MDM-2015-0552].