Resident Perceptions of Bicycle Boulevards: A SE Salmon Street Case Study
By Mariah VanZerr

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Background: Very little is known about the impacts of bicycle boulevard designation on existing residential neighborhoods. For example, how do residents perceive Bicycle Boulevards in terms of their impacts on community attributes such as home values, sense of community, or quality of life? A better understanding of how communities react to bicycle boulevard designation is necessary to help planners successfully improve and expand the bicycle boulevard network within existing communities.

Research: To answer this question, a survey of residents along SE Salmon Street (a Bicycle Boulevard in Portland, Oregon) was conducted. Specific questions that framed the research include:

1. To what extent did the Bicycle Boulevard designation factor into peoples’ decision to move to SE Salmon Street Street?
2. Has living on a Bicycle Boulevard encouraged residents to bike more?, and
3. Do resident perceptions of the positive or negative impact of Bicycle Boulevards vary based on demographic information, length of time living on the street, or home-ownership status?

A total of 253 online survey links were distributed to every residence facing SE Salmon Street between SE 12th Ave and SE 35th Ave. A total of 78 responses were received, and the estimated  population response rate1 was 29 percent, which means we can be 95 percent confident (+/- 10 percent) that the survey results represent the total population of SE Salmon households in the study area.

Findings: The majority of respondents felt that the SE Salmon Bicycle Boulevard designation has had a positive impact on home values, quality of life, sense of community, noise, air quality, and convenience for bicyclists; a negative impact on convenience for drivers; and no impact on safety for children, convenience for pedestrians, and the amount of traffic collisions. Additional key findings include:

• 42 percent of respondents said living on a bicycle boulevard makes them more likely to bike
• A significantly higher share of cyclists (84.4 percent) than non-cyclists (54.8 percent) considered the Bicycle Boulevard to have a positive impact on Quality of Life (P = .004)
• 57 percent of respondents perceived the Bicycle Boulevard as having a positive impact on home values. Interestingly, no statistically significant difference could be found between cyclists and non-cyclists (or any group) for this category, which means that a broad range of respondents (and not just cyclists) felt that the Bicycle Boulevard designation has had a positive impact on home values.

Conclusions: While the majority (48 percent) of comments could be categorized as positive towards the Bicycle Boulevard and bicyclists in general, another forty percent of the comments could be categorized as generally frustrated or openly hostile. Key recommendations to alleviate tensions between Bicycle Boulevard residents and cyclists include increasing traffic diversion measures, improving cyclist visibility at night, and providing clearer communication about Bicycle Boulevard purpose, traffic laws, and expected courteous behaviors in the communities they serve.