Bicycling and Walking in Colorado: The Economic Impact and
Household Survey Results
One important step in the development and improvement of bicycle and
pedestrian facilities in Colorado is to define the policies related to
their funding, planning, programming, design, maintenance, and to
encourage safe travel through education and enforcement. Therefore, the
Colorado Department of Transportation initiated this research to
provide the agency as well as cities, towns, and counties throughout
the state with baseline information from which planning and funding
decisions can be made.
This research was conducted by the Center for Research on Economic and
Social Policy (CRESP) at the University of Colorado at Denver under the
direction of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Program at the Colorado Department
of Transportation. It was a collaborative effort with guidance from
representatives from the bicycle industry, other state agencies,
cities, counties, transportation professionals, citizens, and special
interest groups. A number of individuals, agencies, businesses, and
organizations also contributed through their participation in the
development of the questionnaire, meetings, and written review
comments.
In the spring of 1999, 40,000 surveys were mailed to randomly selected
households throughout Colorado. The survey contained 117 questions
pertaining to personal and household characteristics and the travel
habits of the household members. The 16% response rate was the result
of 5,771 completed surveys. A complete description of the methodology,
a copy of the questionnaire and a detailed analysis of the data are
contained in the complete Technical Report.
