Planning process of a cycling network : case study of Ponte de Lima, Portugal

Abstract

Cycling is one of the appropriate modes of transport to achieve a more sustainable mobility especially in urban areas, due to its inherent competitiveness for short trips, socioeconomic and mainly environmental advantages in relation to motorized modes of transport. For that reason, transport and political local authorities have been planning and building cycling infrastructures to promote this mode of transport. In this paper, a planning methodology is presented and a case study is described, which was developed to show the application of the planning process in the town of Ponte de Lima, in the North of Portugal, which has cycle tracks for leisure purposes and bike renting services with a low use for commuting purposes due to its difficult orography.