Multi-Objective Optimization of Bicycle Network Design and Dedicated Cycling Routes for Travel Time Reduction in Metropolitan Areas

Air pollution and traffic congestion caused by the excessive use of private vehicles have posed significant challenges to metropolitan areas. The development of cycling infrastructure and the designation of dedicated bicycle routes are considered effective strategies for travel demand management. In the present study, five potential cycling routes in the city of Qom were evaluated based on six key criteria: hourly traffic volume, longitudinal gradient, roadway width, number of intersections, speed limit, and on-street parking conditions.The Friedman test was employed to determine the weights of the evaluation criteria using questionnaire data collected from 384 users and 15 experts. Subsequently, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was applied to rank the candidate routes. In addition, the consistency index was calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).The results indicated that Route No. 3 (Tohid Street), with a consistency index of -2.4 and the shortest distance to the positive ideal solution in the TOPSIS analysis, was identified as the most suitable option in terms of balancing geometric and traffic-related conditions. Under a scenario involving a 31% reduction in private vehicle usage, based on users’ stated willingness in the questionnaire survey, travel time decreased by 40%, while traffic flow speed increased by 57%.

The final outcome of the study is an operational framework consisting of six sequential steps, ranging from criteria selection to traffic simulation, which can be adapted and applied to other densely populated cities.