Organizing bicycle traffic in Moscow to reduce air pollutant concentrations

Abstract

The objective of this article is to assess the prospects for development of cycling as a mode of transport in major cities in Russia and worldwide. Towards this end, the author addresses bicycle traffic organization patterns in the cities of Europe, South Eastern Asia and South America. The methods, employed in this research project, include sociological data collection, or the polling of urban residents (residents of the Russian capital), the retrospective analysis of sources, including news articles, the comparative historical method and forecasting. In the article, the impact produced on the urban environment, namely, on the surface layers of the urban atmosphere, by the motor traffic is compared with the one produced by the bicycle traffic. The mission of this research project is to analyze development of cycling network routes, parking lots, and accompanying small architectural forms in Moscow. The author employs methods of environmental monitoring to assess the impact produced by the motor transport on the environmental situation in the city. The conclusion is that there is a need to develop the urban walking infrastructure, to expand the urban cycling network, and to convert to the biosphere compatible urban transport.