Impact of creating bike lanes for bicycling use as transportation for adults living in the city of Rio Claro-SP

Several studies have demonstrated that the use of bicycle for transportation have beneficial effects on various diseases, whether in function of the physical exercise or indirectly. However, the lack of place for bicycle use (cycle lanes and cycle paths) is one of the main barriers for non- cyclists and cyclists. Studies evaluating the impact of the creation of cycle lanes and cycle paths in the promotion of cycling have some inconsistent results. Furthermore, there are few studies using objective measures that report an increase in physical activity in response to these environmental changes. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the implementation of bicycle lanes in the bicycle use for transportation by adults living in the city of Rio Claro - SP. For that, the research was carried out in a longitudinal way consisting of two moments (2008 and 2014). At the first moment, prior to the creation of the 27,29 kilometers of cycle courses, 1588 subjects were interviewed. After the creation of these structures, the same subjects were contacted and invited to participate in the second stage of this research. The impact of the creation of cycle paths was evaluated objectively through the Geographic Information System. Information about the bicycle use was obtained through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - long version. For the analysis of the data, a Multi-level Poisson regression analysis was used, being adjusted for variables gender, age group and income. Finally, a Structural Equation Model was developed to test the relationship between bicycle use and distance to a bicycle lane, buffer of the bicycle lane (500m), perception of proximity to the lane, average distance to destinations, perceived barriers to bicycle use (fear of accidents, street quality, heavy traffic, lack of safety), gender, age, income and car ownership. For the follow-up, there was a sample loss of 56.4% (n = 895), mainly due to a change of address (n = 342), but the sample remained similar. The prevalence of bicycle use as a means of transportation decreased from 25.0% in 2008 to 13.9% in 2014. With regard to the main barriers to the use of bicycles as a means of transportation, the mainly was: don´t have a bicycle (25.5%), followed by lack of desire (24.0%) and fear of accidents (22.8%). In the last year, 25.1% (n = 174) of the respondents reported having used the cycle lane or cycle path. Of these, 53.5% reported a positive satisfaction with the structures and maintenance of these cycle structures and 32.0% reported a positive satisfaction regarding the safety related to the criminality of these routes. The average distance from the subject's residence to the nearest cycle structures was = 1785.5 meters (IC95%: 1730.3- 1840.7) in 2008 and decreased to = 614.0 meters (95% CI: 573.7-654.2) in 2014. Among the environmental variables, including the buffer, objective distance and distance perception of the cycle lane/cycle path, only the latter presented a consistent association with the condition of cycling, presenting a relative risk of 60% higher for those who perceived a distance of less than 15 minutes of walking. In addition, personal characteristics, such as gender and age, were associated with cycling, with males having a greater chance (RR = 2.7) and older ones (RR = 0.32 and RR = 0.22). Moreover, the results derived from the structural equations model point out that the perception of general safety seems to be a key factor and the most expressive variable in relation to the use of the bicycle as a means of transportation. In addition, it is noted that general security is affected by both the perception of proximity to cycle structures, and by age, income and gender. (AU)