SIMULATION TO PREDICT CYCLISTS’ EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ALONG BIKEWAYS

Cyclists riding in polluted urban environments may be exposed to unhealthy conditions. Therefore, the design process of bikeway routes should take into account the exposure of cyclists to air pollutants. Riding a bicycle is a common way to commute in Bogota, a highly polluted city. Quinto Centenario is a 25-km bikeway, to be built in the coming years. This study aims at producing estimates for Quinto Centenario users exposure to particulate matter. We simulated the movement of bikers along the planned route, and we used air quality data collected by a monitoring network to estimate the pollution concentration bikers will be exposed to. Bikeway traffic estimates were obtained from official city surveys, which we analyzed to determine origin/destination matrices for bike trips and trip duration distributions. The output of simulation is captured by a spreadsheet that computes bikers’ exposure for any path along the bikeway.