Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

6654

Date

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Civil Engineering

Concentration

Transportation Engineering

Committee Chair

Stephanie S Ivey

Committee Member

Andrew Guthrie

Committee Member

Claudio Ivan Meier

Committee Member

Leah Windsor

Abstract

This research leverages a City of Memphis dataset of over 1,700 survey responses with over 2,400 comments for understanding how people make decisions regarding support for or opposition to bike lanes in their communities. The survey comments were analyzed using both descriptive and thematic analyses along with unbiased computer-generated topic models. Six primary themes were identified along with six major intersections of these themes that provided important insights for understanding respondents’ perspectives. The primary themes are: People on bikes deserve a space on the road, Danger and safety, Roadway is for cars and drivers, No real need for bike lanes, Money and funding, and City and area benefit from bike lanes. The results of this research can be used to inform local agencies’ public engagement and communication strategies to ensure more effective discussions take place regarding expansion of a community’s transportation network. To have productive conversations with people opposing government spending on bike lanes, agencies need to emphasize that bike lanes’ benefits extend beyond people who bike.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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