The promotion of bicycle use by school-aged children is one way to encourage more active lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an on- and off-bicycle education program for school-aged children in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to understand how education influences the cycling behavior and attitudes of children and parents. Qualitative measures and descriptive statistics were used to analyze pre- and postprogram survey results from children who participated in the program and their parents. Results showed that children’s knowledge of bicycle safety increased and that participants made significant improvements in their knowledge of bicycle-specific street signs (before = 83%, after = 92%) and hand signals (before = 68%, after = 96%). Children also became more confident. Before the program, 75% of participants stated that to ride a bicycle was not difficult for them. After the program, this percentage increased to 92%. The parents of the participants also reported improvements in their children’s cycling abilities, and 55% stated that they would allow their children to participate in an organized cycle-to-school program. In addition, half of the parents included in the postprogram survey stated that their behavior, attitudes, or both, toward cycling had become more positive as a result of their child’s involvement in the bicycle education program. To encourage cycling in any region, bicycle educators and advocacy groups can develop school-based bicycle education programs as well as cycle-to-school programs. City planners should consider implementation of policies that encourage the development of bicycle infrastructure and traffic calming measures, especially near schools, to encourage parents to allow their children to bicycle to school.


    Access

    Download

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Bicycle Education for Children: Evaluation of a Program in Montreal, Quebec, Canada


    Additional title:

    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2016-01-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Road Lighting Effects on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accident Frequency: Case Study in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Nabavi Niaki, Matin S. / Fu, Ting / Saunier, Nicolas et al. | Transportation Research Record | 2016


    Breaking into Bicycle Theft: Insights from Montreal, Canada

    Van Lierop, Dea / Grimsrud, Michael / El-Geneidy, Ahmed | Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2015


    Breaking into Bicycle Theft: Insights from Montreal, Canada

    Van Lierop, Dea | Online Contents | 2015