Road lighting density and brightness linked with increased cycling rates after-dark
Type: Journal Article Venue: PLOS ONE Year: 2020
Abstract
Cycling has a range of benefits as is recognised by national and international policies aiming to increase cycling rates. Darkness acts as a barrier to people cycling, with fewer people cycling after-dark when seasonal and time-of-day factors are accounted for. This paper explores whether road lighting can reduce the negative impact of darkness on cycling rates. Changes in cycling rates between daylight and after-dark were quantified for 48 locations in Birmingham, United Kingdom, by calculating an odds ratio. These odds ratios were compared against two measures of road lighting at each location: 1) Density of road lighting lanterns; 2) Relative brightness as estimated from night-time aerial images. Locations with no road lighting showed a significantly greater reduction in cycling after-dark compared with locations that had some lighting. A nonlinear relationship was found between relative brightness at a location at night and the reduction in cyclists after-dark. Small initial increases in brightness resulted in large reductions in the difference between cyclist numbers in daylight and after-dark, but this effect reached a plateau as brightness increased. These results suggest only a minimal amount of lighting can promote cycling after-dark, making it an attractive mode of transport year-round.
Citation
Jim Uttley, Steve Fotios, and Robin Lovelace (2020). Road lighting density and brightness linked with increased cycling rates after-dark. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233105
BibTeX
@article{uttley_road_2020,
title = {Road lighting density and brightness linked with increased cycling rates after-dark},
volume = {15},
copyright = {CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication},
issn = {1932-6203},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0233105},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0233105},
abstract = {Cycling has a range of benefits as is recognised by national and international policies aiming to increase cycling rates. Darkness acts as a barrier to people cycling, with fewer people cycling after-dark when seasonal and time-of-day factors are accounted for. This paper explores whether road lighting can reduce the negative impact of darkness on cycling rates. Changes in cycling rates between daylight and after-dark were quantified for 48 locations in Birmingham, United Kingdom, by calculating an odds ratio. These odds ratios were compared against two measures of road lighting at each location: 1) Density of road lighting lanterns; 2) Relative brightness as estimated from night-time aerial images. Locations with no road lighting showed a significantly greater reduction in cycling after-dark compared with locations that had some lighting. A nonlinear relationship was found between relative brightness at a location at night and the reduction in cyclists after-dark. Small initial increases in brightness resulted in large reductions in the difference between cyclist numbers in daylight and after-dark, but this effect reached a plateau as brightness increased. These results suggest only a minimal amount of lighting can promote cycling after-dark, making it an attractive mode of transport year-round.},
language = {en},
number = {5},
urldate = {2020-05-22},
journal = {PLOS ONE},
publisher = {Public Library of Science},
author = {Uttley, Jim and Fotios, Steve and Lovelace, Robin},
month = may,
year = {2020},
note = {ZSCC: 0000000},
keywords = {Artificial light, Daylight, Latitude, Light, Roads, Seasons, Sunset, Twilight},
pages = {e0233105},
}