Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8629-7055

Date Available

8-20-2025

Year of Publication

2025

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)

College

Engineering

Department/School/Program

Civil Engineering

Faculty

Dr. Nikiforos Stamatiadis

Abstract

The growing shift of commuters towards active transportation (AT) in the U.S. has led transportation agencies to place greater emphasis on improving bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Such improvement efforts can be integrated into multi-modal highway planning and development or be implemented through stand-alone pedestrian and bicycle projects both resulting in additional AT demand. Measuring the benefits of infrastructure improvement is central to prioritizing projects, as active transportation contributes to health, congestion reduction, safety, and recreational benefits. This study aims to calibrate the demand estimates for walking and cycling and estimate the associated benefits for the state of Kentucky. Population density plays a critical role in shaping walking and cycling activity, as areas with higher densities tend to generate greater AT demand. Weather conditions can also significantly impact bicyclist and pedestrian behavior, with cycling and walking being particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations and weather conditions. To account for these influences, an analysis of population densities was undertaken resulting in developing adjustment factors for calibrating pedestrian and bicycle demand. Weather conditions were also considered in determining the likelihood of walking and bicycling in inclement weather, with demand adjusted accordingly to reflect Kentucky-specific temperature data by accounting for days when walking and bicycling are likely to occur. Statistical testing focuses on evaluating the initial adjustment factors of 25% for very low, 50% for low, 75% for medium, and 100% for high population densities. These adjustment factors were varied by ±5% increments, with the final adjustments reaching up to ±10% from the initial values. The sensitivity analysis conducted focused on the impact of these factors on the overall benefits within each population density category. The analysis performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test found no significant differences across the tested increment levels, supporting the use of the original population density-based adjustment factors. The findings of this study serve as a recommendation for integration into Kentucky’s Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) as well as for any other agencies interested in evaluating and prioritizing transportation projects based on quantified benefits.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2025.431

Funding Information

This study was supported by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet funding program (PL 48) in 2023-2024.

The author was supported by the Eugenides Foundation for the first academic year of his graduate studies, 2023-2024.

Download

Share

COinS