The city bikeway network often
intersects with freeway interchanges in metropolitan areas
such as Houston. Due to the unique traffic features and the
complicated geometric conditions, it is likely that there
are more bicycle/vehicle collisions and potential conflicts
at freeway interchanges. This observation can be further
verified through the review of crash records and associated
collision diagrams. A good understanding on the causes,
patterns, potential conflicts and concerns under this
situation will help to provide better services to bicyclists
during planning and operation stages.
The principle research question
is whether there are more bicycle/vehicle collisions near
freeway interchanges and what are the causes and patterns of
such collisions. More specifically, the detailed research
questions are: (1) whether there are more bicycle/vehicle
collisions at freeway interchanges than on similar roadway
classes; (2) what are the significant causes (speeding,
unsafe lane change, etc.) of these collisions; (3) what are
the pattern(s) with regard to the contributing factors for
collisions between bicycles and vehicles near interchanges;
(4) what are the concerns that are increasing or are unique
for bicyclists to traversing areas near freeway
interchanges; (5) what types of computer aided visualization
tools could be provided to engineers, policy makers, and the
public for their much better understandings of potential
conflicts and design issues.
