Following a literature review of approximately 35 studies, HRTPO staff formed a Project Steering Team (PST). PST and staff identified competitor cities for benchmarking multiple parameters:

• Mode share (percentage of people who commute to work using bicycles)
• Path length
• Number of bicycle shops and bicycle rental companies in Hampton Roads region
• Bicycle events

The study explored additional parameters such as bicycle commuter’s income, bicycle events spending, and home location of visitors.

Bicycle commuter’s income was calculated using the American Community Survey and Public Use Microdata Sample data, and revealed the total income of people who commute by bike on an annual basis.

Bicycle events spending analyzed in the study included a tandem event (a volunteer group of tandem cyclists rally together for the purpose of socializing and tandem biking), and the Harrisburg bicycle event (a weekend visit by the Harrisburg Bicycle club from Pennsylvania) which were both held in Williamsburg, the Pedal the Parkway event (held every year on the first Saturday in May), and the Cap 2 Cap event. Bicycle events spending was used to determine the impact of investments made by local governments in improving bicycle infrastructure on attracting local cyclists and cyclists from outside of our region.

Home location information for Virginia Capital Trail and South Beach Trail users showed that approximately 30% of Virginia Capital Trail users and approximately 45% of South Beach Trail users are from out-of-state (primary from Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida).

In Phase Two of the study, HRTPO staff intends to conduct a survey of users of the Virginia Capital Trail (VCT) to estimate the amount of money visitors drawn to Hampton Roads by the VCT spend in the region.