Bicycle accessibility assessment of railway stations using openstreetmap data: a case study in Wallonia, Belgium

Details

Supervisors

Defourny, Pierre ; Isaac, Tanguy

Faculty

Faculté des bioingénieurs

Degree label

Master [120] : bioingénieur en sciences agronomiques, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Bicycling is cheap, healthy, and thrilling to watch on TV in July. But it does not stop there. This two-wheeler might be a key factor to shift towards a sustainable future. Beyond reducing carbon emissions, Wallonia must address urban sprawl as it is a growing threat for biodiversity and natural resources. Soil imperviousness is also a major concern, increasing flooding risk. In this context, this thesis focuses on the territorial potential of bicycle accessibility of Wallonia’s railway stations, using infrastructure-based and location-based metrics. The first objective is to develop a tool integrating both shortest path analyses and bicycle infrastructure detection and classification capabilities. Covering the entire Belgian territory, this tool will include three travel modes (pedestrian, e-bicycle, and car), relying on a single network data source: OpenStreetMap. Overall results are promising but the bicycle infrastructure detection and classification capabilities need to be properly validated. The socioeconomic aspect of bicycle accessibility should also be further explored. The perspectives for the future are varied, from the model improvements to interactions with existing resources such as the Atlas des gares de Wallonie or the Schéma Directeur Cyclable.