Directional Distribution Factors for Bicycle Traffic: Development and Applications

AbstractThe directional distribution, also known as the D factor, is an important traffic parameter that is frequently used for design and operational performance analysis. This research analyzes the variability of the D factor for bicycle traffic and identifies the factors that lead to such variability. The importance of the D factor stems from its potential application in estimating the daily volume of one travel direction at a particular count station using the daily count of the other direction. This case takes place when the sensor installed on one direction is down because of malfunction. This research explores the temporal and spatial transferability of the D factors of bicycle traffic. Different sets of bicycle D factors were developed according to different criteria, and were further used for estimation purposes. The study made use of daily bicycle volume data, which were collected at 10 bidirectional count stations in the City of Vancouver, Canada, between 2009 and 2011. The results showed that ...