Estimating level of service of mid-block bicycle lanes considering mixed traffic flow

The primary objective of the study was to identify the factors that influenced the comfort perception of e-bike, e-scooter and bicycle riders in mid-block bicycle lanes on urban streets and to estimate the bicycle level of service (BLOS) of a mid-block bicycle lane with mixed two-wheeled traffic. Data were collected at thirty locations on thirty different streets in Nanjing area in China. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were conducted to make comparisons of the comfort perception among different cyclist groups. The factors that significantly affected the comfort perception of the cyclists included the age of the cyclists, the type of two-wheeled vehicles, the volume of two-wheeled vehicles, the width of mid-block bicycle lanes, the proportions of e-bikes and e-scooters in two-wheeled vehicles, the physical separation between motorized, bicycle and pedestrian lanes, the slope of bicycle lanes, the roadside access points and the roadside land use. Ordered probit models were developed to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of different contributing factors on the comfort perception of the riders of e-bikes, e-scooters and bicycles. The results showed that compared to the riders of bicycles, the riders of e-bikes and e-scooters were more likely to perceive a poor comfort level. The comfort perception of the cyclists increased with an increase in the width of the mid-block bicycle lane, whereas it decreased with an increase in the volume of two-wheeled vehicles. The proportions of e-bikes and e-scooters in two-wheeled vehicles negatively affected the comfort perception of the cyclists. In addition, the presence of physical separation between the motorized, bicycle and pedestrian lanes significantly increased the comfort perception of the cyclists. With the comfort perception models, a procedure was developed and insights were gained to help transportation professionals estimate the BLOS of a mid-block bicycle lane with mixed two-wheeled traffic.