Mobility and safety of active transportation modes

Environmental and public health reasons support the current trend for promoting the transition of current vehicle-based small urban routes journeys to more active means of transportation (cycling and walking trips). Currently, in Portugal a high percentage of accidents and victims (70% of injury accidents and 43% of fatalities) occurs in urban areas; and pedestrians, cyclists, children, seniors and other vulnerable road users (VRU) are already particularly affected by severe accidents (30% of deaths and serious injuries in urban areas are pedestrian). Therefore, special road safety concerns and interventions are required, for this transition in modal split to ensure the safety of these new journeys.

It is expected that the transition to active modes of transport may contribute to alleviating congestion. However, it requires a multidisciplinary approach, integrating various aspects, including the needs and limitations of all road users and requirements for configuring and monitoring the operation of the traffic system.

This research stream is intended to support the planning and implementation of infrastructure interventions that contribute to stimulate the use of active transport modes and are compatible with the National Road Safety Strategy vision and tools. Objectives for this stream include improving the knowledge of factors influencing VRU accident occurrence and severity; gathering data and analyzing the characteristics of interactions involving VRU and other traffic; investigating the impact on mobility and road safety of traditional and ITS-based changes in the road and street environment interventions; and the development and test of innovative methods for managing mixed VRU-motorized traffic operations.