Bicycle crossing on viaducts in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, increases up to 70% after installation of cycling structures

In May 2021, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, received its first two cycling infrastructures on viaducts, which seems to have positively influenced more people to cycle in such places. The first to be completed was a cycle path on the Via-710 viaduct, which connects the Andradas Avenue to Minas Shopping Mall, which opened to the public on May 08, 2021. The other structure is a cycle lane on the José Maria Torres Leal viaduct, which connects Andradas Avenue to the Santa Tereza district and was completed on May 11, 2021.

From the data provided by Strava Metro, it was possible to analyze the probable impacts of these works on the flow of cyclists, more precisely, on the number of trips recorded in the Strava application.

The following chart illustrates these data by bimonthly, throughout the city and on the two roads between Jan/2019 and Oct/2021. To facilitate the comparison between the 3 sites, the graph used as a base index 1, the first two months of 2019.

Thus, the chart highlights three important milestones that influenced the number of trips in at least one or more locations:

1. The beginning of the pandemic caused the number of trips to almost double throughout the city and quadrupled on the two viaducts;

2. On January 20, 2021, a section of the Via-710 viaduct was closed to cars, allowing cyclists to move more smoothly, even though the cycle path was not completed yet. From then on, the number of trips on this viaduct increased by more than 50% compared to the first year of the pandemic and reached 5.7 times more trips than in the beginning of 2019;

3. Finally, the two cycling structures on the viaducts were completed in May, 2021. With regard to the one that gives access to the Santa Tereza district, after opening, the monthly average almost doubled from April to May, representing more than 5.4 times the performance of 2019. On the Via-710 viaduct, there is a further increase, in which the number of trips reaches almost 7 times more than their usual pre-pandemic figures. It is important to highlight that this occurred while the number of trips in the rest of the city slightly decreased.

Thus, comparing the monthly average from May to November 2020 with the same period in 2021, when the cycling lanes were completed, the following growth results are obtained:

Therefore, it is easy to see that the average monthly performance on both viaducts was much higher than the slight increase of 8% observed in the rest of the city. On the Via-710 viaduct, the increase was an impressive 70% and on the viaduct that gives access to the Santa Tereza district, the increase was at 44%. These increases compared to a period that was already growing significantly compared to 2019, it is worth mentioning.

These numbers reinforce the thesis always uttered by experts, that for more people to cycle, first, it is necessary to offer safe conditions and an adequate cycling network. Just as no one waits for cars to cross through a river, so then they can build bridges or even the skies to fill with airplanes, and then build airports, cycling structures follow the same logic and should not wait until the streets fill with cyclists, and only by then they can be built.

Finally, it is important to congratulate the company Strava for making this tool available, which now allows cyclists and researchers to better monitor public policies. With Strava Metro data, it is possible to bring bicycle transport to the attention of municipalities. Belo Horizonte is one that is in need!

Acknowledgement: This article was produced within the framework of the Strava Metro Data Analysis Committee of UCB — Brazilian Cyclists Union