23 with or without parking, off-street bicycle trail or bicycle-related equipment. 6.
Selecting the type of improvement from a list including: restripe, overlay, full depth, or signed route.
7.
Entering specific information into a cost estimation chart (length of facility, number of bicycle symbols etc.)
8.
Entering bicycle commute percentage for the project area or metro area
9.
Entering the number of persons per square mile within 800, 1,600 and 2,400 meters of the project
Table 2: Example Application, Bicycling Info’s Benefit-Cost Analysis Tool Example Application Using the average density of the city of Seattle, Washington as an example, we estimated the demand and benefits of a 1-mile bicycle lane with parking using Bicycling Info’s online tool. The estimate is based on a 2.9 percent existing bicycle commute percentage. The following table provides the results: Demand (within 1.5 miles of the proposed facility)
Low Estimate
Mid Estimate
High Estimate
Residents
27,776
27,776
27,776
Existing Commuters
322
322
322
New Commuters
100
100
100
Total Existing Cyclists
600
5,109
7,911
Total New Cyclists
285
1,681
2,548
Annual Benefits Recreation
Low Estimate
Mid Estimate
High Estimate
$677,635
$5,769,937
$8,934,744
Mobility - Bicycle lane with parking
Per Trip
Daily
Annually
$3.17
$1,337
$8,934,744
Health
Low Estimate
Mid Estimate
High Estimate
$36,526
$215,105
$326,090
Decreased Auto Use
Urban
Suburban
Rural
$5,678
$3,494
$437
quantifying
10.
Entering the facility length in meters
Once these values have been entered, a chart is displayed summarizing the total costs, demand and benefits of the project, as shown in Table 2. The Online Tool can be accessed here.
HEAT (Health Economic Assessment Tool for Bicycling and Walking) The HEAT tool was developed by the World Health Organization of Europe, with collaboration from EPA Europe and the Pan-European Programme on Transport. The tool can assist agencies in assessing the value of new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure from a benefit-cost perspective, in addition to quantifying the health and associated economic benefits of current and future bicycling and walking rates. The tool is primarily used in Europe, but it can be applied across the world to calculate health and economic benefits of cycling and walking projects2. HEAT analysis for cycling and walking investments allows the following calculations to be conducted using the online tool: •
When planning a new project, HEAT provides a value to the estimated level of cycling or walking when the new infrastructure is implemented. Different treatments can be compared to determine which will have the greatest health impact. The costs associated with the project can also be included in the analysis to generate a benefitcost ratio.
•
The tool allows users to place value on the reduced mortality from past and/or current levels of bicycling and walking. This can be applied to different geographic scales, such as at a workplace, in a neighborhood or citywide. It also allows health benefits to be calculated based on projected cycling and walking rates. For example, if the city’s bicycle mode split was 2 percent with a goal
The tool is based on the following data and assumptions from previous literature and research: Cohort studies in Copenhagen concluded that commuter cyclists had a .72 relative risk of all-cause mortality compared to non-cycling commuters. The study controlled for socioeconomic data as well as leisure time physical activity data. Physical activity has positive effects on many aspects of morbidity. Nevertheless, as of now, the current evidence on morbidity, both for walking and for cycling, is more limited than that on mortality and therefore the tool analyzes only mortality. 2
& prioritizing non-motorized transportation investments