CRUSE Tool project: Milestone 4 Report

1 Introduction

The Cycle Route Uptake and Scenarios Estimation (CRUSE) Tool is a research and data science/web development project funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). The project builds on and extends the methods underlying the Propensity to Cycle Tool, an open access strategic cycle network planning tool that has transformed the practice of cycle network design in England and Wales [@lovelace_propensity_2017; @morgan_travel_2020; @lovelace_open_2020].

We have developed a web application for cycle infrastructure planning, to meet the needs of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). The CRUSE Tool project is undertaken by the University of Leeds and managed by AECOM.

2 Current state of progress

Progress on the project is divided into four milestones:

• Milestone 1: establishment of baseline cycle route networks for pilot counties
• Milestone 2: generation of mode shift scenarios and route networks for additional trip purposes
• Milestone 3: completion of a prototype tool for the pilot counties
• Milestone 4: scaling-up, refinement and deployment of a national tool

Within Milestone 4, we have:

• Conducted a full national build of the CRUSE Tool
• Deployed a web application at https://cruse.bike/
• Presented CRUSE at the TII National Roads and Greenways Conference, Sligo
• Briefed the NTA and Local Authorities and gained useful feedback
• Made refinements to the web interface and methodology
• Improved documentation of FAQs and definition of tool uses and purposes

2.1 National build

Amendment of the build process to streamline the full national build meant we could make results available for all counties in Ireland. We used the new batch method to speed up the routing process, which is the slowest part of the build.

The build required some adjustment to deal with county-specific issues. To minimise webpage loading times, we used only the top 10,000 route segments in each county. However, in the largest counties, especially Dublin, this meant the route networks visible on the county webpages were very gappy. Therefore we changed the methods to ensure that at least one sixth of the route segments in each county would be visible, showing the segments with the highest cycling potential.

Independently of this, we made sure it is possible to access complete county route network data using the data downloads webpage.

2.2 Web application deployment

The CRUSE website is now up and running and freely accessible to all (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: Main website landing page

This directs you to a national landing page with six tabs:

• Map

A map of Ireland which shows percent cycling by county and at low zoom levels, and cycle route networks at high zoom levels, with legends that automatically change to suit the appropriate zoom level

• Table

A table of county cycling statistics relating to each scenario

• About

Summary information on the tool aim and scope, the CRUSE team, and acknowledgements. It also contains links for contact and to a feedback survey.

• Video

Placeholder for a CRUSE video

• FAQ

Summary of the FAQ with a link to the full FAQ page

• News

Brief news updates on the project

2.2.1 County pages

Selecting a county in the map or table tabs sends you to a county landing page. This contains key information for the county, including a cycle route network map and a graph showing cycle uptake against distance for each uptake scenario (Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Sligo county landing page

It also contains links to further county-specific pages:

• County statistics

These contain a set of graphs and maps showing trip breakdowns by mode, purpose and distance.

• Quietest and fastest route networks

The main pages show balanced route networks, so this page gives the equivalent for the fastest and quietest route networks.

• Data downloads

Here you can download the full route networks for the county.

2.3 TII National Roads and Greenways Conference

We presented slides to Local Authority planning officers and held a stall at TII’s National Roads and Greenways Conference in Sligo on 22/23rd September 2022.

2.4 NTA and Local Authority briefings

As part of the process of raising awareness about the tool and gaining useful feedback for development, we held meetings with officers from the NTA and from Kildare, Carlow and Kerry Local Authorities.

Feedback included the following:

• since trips that begin outside the county are not shown, this makes it difficult to assess uptake on roads close to county boundaries

• the age of census data, together with recent university expansion in the south of Carlow, will mean some flows are missed

• in Kerry, most trips are likely to be related to greenways or tourism

2.5 Refinements to the web interface and methods

Considerable work was done to improve the clarity and usability of the website. Much of this related to the appearance and user-friendliness of the landing page map, which shows different data at different zoom levels. Improvements were also made to the popups on maps and graphs. More broadly, we enhanced the website appearance by using a consistent visual theme.

A piece of feedback received from Carlow was that the tool didn’t represent well the number of trips on roads close to county boundaries. This was a particular problem in Carlow because the western fringes of Carlow town lie within County Laois. To improve this we changed the county maps so that they showed all trips within 1km of the county boundary, instead of only trips that originate within the county (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3: New Carlow map including all trips within 1km of county boundary

We recalculated the number of trips for each trip purpose, taking into account data on the number of recreational cycle trips, as well as the NHTS survey results. This lays the groundwork for the upcoming addition of a recreational trip layer.

A number of changes were made to the county statistics page. The first graph on this page now shows all trip purposes, but the remaining graphs and maps show only POWSCAR trips, for which the data quality is highest. The y-axes on these graphs now show proportion of trips instead of trip numbers. A new graph breaks down POWSCAR trips by purpose and mode. The distance bands on the final graph have been standardised. Finally, the map includes data for all scenarios, not just the baseline scenario.

2.6 Documentation

The purpose of the CRUSE tool was respecified to make clear that it supports TII’s remit for road safety under the RISM Directive and for scheme appraisal through PAG Unit 13. More text was provided in the FAQ relating to the uses and limitations of the CRUSE tool. Another new FAQ section refers to the use of CRUSE for the appraisal of active mode and greenway projects. Within the FAQ, summary tables explain the uptake scenarios and the breakdown of trip purposes, with the trip purpose table updated to represent the recalculated trip numbers. Team member names and contact details were provided.

To enable productive feedback on the tool, we created an online survey form where users can record responses.

3 Extensions

Two extensions to the project have been agreed with TII.

The first will allow the recreational trip layer to the completed. The second extension will involve a programme of training sessions for users of the tool. This may also include regular updates to the route networks.