Exploring the Shared Use Pathway: A Review of the Design and Demand Estimation Approaches

ABSTRACT

Shared-use paths (SUPs) are rapidly growing in popularity worldwide as dedicated off-street paths that are shared by non-motorists. SUPS are becoming popular for pedestrians, inline skaters, roller skaters, skateboarders, wheelchair users, and electric bicycle riders, among others. SUPs can be built alongside or far from the roadway, with the former typically separated from vehicular traffic by a buffer. SUPs built off of roadways pose a lower risk of conflict with vehicular traffic. Given the crucial role of safety in SUP utilization, this study provides a targeted review of the existing literature and state of practice focusing on the implementation of the SUPs and design guidelines as well as factors, data, and approaches to estimate SUP user volume. The findings of this study will be helpful for transportation planners and policymakers with the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of SUPs. Ultimately, this review aims to encourage the development of safer and more accessible SUPs, enabling a broader range of non-motorists to benefit from these essential infrastructure investments.

KEYWORDS:

• Shared use path (SUP)
• non-motorists
• demand
• design

Acknowledgments

This research in this study was conducted as part of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) 0-7152 Project. The research team would like to thank the project panel members for their support and feedback throughout the study. We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Juan Cruz Gonzalez, an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University during the execution of this study, who assisted us in identifying relevant studies. The authors also thank three anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Texas Department of Transportation.