Determining the Best Path for Bicycle Lane Construction Using Sustainable Transportation Approach (Case Study: District 1 of Shiraz)

Nowadays; cycling is considered as a solution to address traffic congestion problem and its consequences, especially air pollution. However, this mode requires suitable facilities including bicycle paths. This paper discusses prioritizing of five bicycle paths in district 1 of the city of Shiraz, Iran, regarding “Safety”, “Appeal” and “Mobility” criteria. The safety criterion is subcategorized into five factors as follows: number of street crossed by the path (i.e., intersections), slope of the path, heavy vehicles in the path, speed limit of the path and number of direction offsets along the path. The criterion of appeal of the path is subcategorized into two factors as follows: attractiveness of the path sides and the diversity of land uses along the path and at last, the mobility of path is subcategorized into number of public transit stations along the path, residents alongside the path and educational centers along the path. Based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the weights of criteria and factors demonstrate that according to transportation experts’ opinions, the most important factors were slope and speed limit of a path. Furthermore, the application of the method in one of the districts of the city of Shiraz has been conducted.