Bike lanes work, PSU professor says
Researcher straps GPS devices on bikes to study riding patterns
Link (Portland Tribune)

“A year after strapping Global Positioning System recorders on hundreds of local bicyclists, Dill thinks she has enough data to demonstrate that “bike infrastructure” such as bike lanes, bike routes, and so on really do encourage people to get out of their cars and steer bikes away from busy thoroughfares that aren’t designed to accommodate them.”

[...]

“Remarkably, the results showed that although only 8 percent of city streets are equipped with any kind of bike infrastructure, 51 percent of trips were taken on them. To Dill, this means that most riders are seeking out such routes, even if they are not the shortest.

“People are going out of their way to use bike infrastructure,” Dill said.”

[...]

“Her data also revealed a significant gender difference when it comes to safety. Men and women are virtually the same when it comes to agreeing that cars are safer than bikes — 56 percent of men and 60 percent of women subscribe to that statement.

But women are far more reluctant than men to ride a bicycle in heavy motor vehicle traffic. According to the survey, 52 percent of women view too much traffic as a barrier to biking, compared to only 34 percent of men.”

[...]

“Although Dill believes more research needs to be done, she thinks her preliminary results suggest the city can encourage more people to ride bikes by making their routes safer.

“If we want more people riding bikes, we need a wider range of people,” Dill said. “If you make the environment safer for riders and given them more options, more people will ride bikes.””