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Van der Waerden & Timmermans The Role of Traffic Lights in Cyclists’ Evaluation of Cycle Routes Peter van der Waerden & Harry Timmermans Urban Planning Group, Eindhoven University of Technology P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands p.j.h.j.v.d.waerden@bwk.tue.nl ABSTRACT This paper discusses the role of traffic lights in cyclists’ evaluation of bicycle routes. The presence of traffic lights is one of the characteristics cyclists face when cycling. In a written questionnaire students of the Eindhoven University of Technology were asked to evaluate all the routes they used between home and a frequently visited destination. In total 121 students participated. The students described 405 bicycle routes. The analyses show that the evaluation of the presence of traffic lights plays a role in cyclists’ route choice behavior. The evaluation of the presence of traffic lights significantly influences the probability that a bicycle route is chosen. An increase of the cyclists’ evaluation of the presence of traffic lights results into an increase of probability that a route will be chosen by cyclists. Compared to other route related characteristics the role of traffic lights in cyclists’ route choice behavior is moderate. INTRODUCTION The main purpose of traffic lights is to optimize waiting times and traffic safety for all road users [1]. According to Wilson [1], the placement of traffic lights is an effective and relatively cheap solution for existing problems at intersections and crossings. In theory, traffic lights can be organized to support all road users using existing regulatory and software like COCON, VRIGEN, and TRANSIT [1, page 395]. In practice, road users face several problems regarding the placement, design, and working of traffic lights. For example, Greweldinger [2] discusses some problems in the context of traffic lights as a result of differences between theory and practices. According to Greweldinger [2] the main aspects of traffic control concern: limited rules concerning visibility and recognition, freedom of placement, and limited number of rules concerning traffic regulation with traffic lights. This situation results often into different designs for traffic control systems. In addition, the local circumstances, different suppliers, vagueness of definitions, and ‘test’-installations result in a variety of systems. A special group of road users facing traffic lights in the urban road network concerns cyclists. In general, cyclists experience several problems when facing traffic lights. Some examples are long red light phases resulting in long waiting times; short green light phases in relation to the crossing movement; conflicts with motorized traffic during green light phases; and no coordination between lights of successive intersections or crossings. De Haan et al [3] argue that most traffic lights are not well-fitted to bicycles. They give 1TRB 2012 Annual Meeting Paper revised from original submittal.
