Challenge
Vision Zero, a project led by City of Toronto’s Innovation Office, approached UX Research Collective to seek deeper insight through design research.
To achieve the goal of zero road deaths for pedestrians and cyclists, there’s a lot of different angles being researched and explored as opportunities for improvement. There’s been a fair amount of quantitative research on the use of roads, characteristics of accidents, etc, but not as much qualitative research has been done on this point.
In the context of road safety, when do cyclists in Toronto feel at risk, and what types of behavioural changes do they make to compensate?
Process
Recruiting and screening the participants
Semi-structured interviews
Ethnographic research
Field visits
My Role
Together with my classmate Tammy Kitt, we conducted interviews and synthesized the insights. I conducted field studies and presented the research insights to the Innovation Office Vision Zero team.
Goals
Evaluate whether if cyclists feel at risk? If so, when?
Describe the current experience and attitude toward biking in downtown Toronto
Identify the alternatives, workarounds that cyclist developed to protect their safety
Recruitments
Friends and family and their friends - 3rd degree of connections
Cycling communities - Biking Toronto https://www.facebook.com/groups/bikingtoronto/
Bike shops employees - Bike sauce https://bikesauce.org/
Methods
Tammy and I each conducted 4 semi-structured in-person interviews
In addition, I conducted 8 field studies during which I rode along with the participants on their commute to and from work
Participants
8 cyclists who have been riding bikes in Downtown Toronto
↑ I duct taped a Go-Pro camera to my bike in order to capture participants’ experiences.
Findings
The overarching theme: Cyclists feel that the system we have in place won’t keep them safe.
Insights 1: Despite designated bike lanes, cyclists still feel at risk.
Cars disregard bike lanes when
Cars stop unexpectedly
Passengers open doors without checking
Leave very little room for cyclists
“You cannot be safe enough. You never know what’s going to happen. Most of the time it’s not the cyclists’ fault.”
Insights 2: Unexpectedly, drivers are also a vulnerable demographic.
Through my field research, I found there are occasions when drivers don’t have other choices but to block the bike lane.
→ Photo to the right: on Bloor St. & Sherbourne St. there are few clinics frequented by people with accessibility needs. However next to the sidewalk there is no parking nor driveway. In the photo, a senior needs the cab driver’s help with her wheel walker, also to ensure she gets on the sidewalk safely. The most accessible way is to park out front, in the middle of the bike lane.
Designing the infrastructure based on quantitative data lacks a humanistic perspective to understand how and why these problems exist.
Insights 3: Cyclists feel that they don’t need to report an accident if they are not severely injured. The City is lacking critical data (reports).
5 out of 8 cyclists we talked to feel that they don’t need to report a bike accident. These minor incidents have the potential to become a matter of life and death.
One of the participants said:
“I’m fine if they pay up to fix the bike, I was fine. If I’ve been hurt, it would be different. I had a few scratches and road rashes.”
However when cyclist file a complaint, they feel their voices are not being heard.
→ The response of this letter one of our participant provided: it showed us that we need a better system in place to hold both cars and cyclists accountable for their own safety.
Recommended Next Steps
Toronto should be a bike-friendly city where cyclists always feel safe.
Here are some ideas from the cyclists and our interpretations:
Having concrete dividers that prevent cars from going into the bike lanes.
Wider bike lanes that provide more room for cyclists
Reinforce the cyclists' rights on the road
Encourage minor incidents reports to generate more data points
Design simple digital reporting tool for cyclists for easy access and reporting
My reflections
This project is the most meaningful project I have worked on. I’m a cyclist who has been riding bikes in Toronto for the past 3 years. From my personal experience, I’m always anxious when I’m riding bikes in Toronto.
The first thing I learned is checking my lenses and biases before each research. I jotted down my own biases and reviewed them before every research. By outlining my coloured lenses, I’m aware of the assumptions I have and be as objective as I can, standing in a neutral position and listening to the cyclists’ experiences without interpreting my own perspective.
Special thanks to the Civic Innovation Office and the UX Research Collective class: Tammy, Maggi, Jingjing, Alec, and Stefan - this project would not be possible without your help, thank you!