title: Exploring bikeability in a suburban metropolitan area using the Active Commuting Route Environment Scale (ACRES).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Commuting by bicycle could contribute to public health, and route environments may influence this behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the potential associations between appraisals of the overall route environment as hindering or stimulating for bicycle commuting, with both perceptions of commuting route environmental factors in a suburban area and background factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Active Commuting Route Environment Scale (ACRES) was used for the assessment of bicycle commuters' perceptions and appraisals of their route environments in the suburban parts of Greater Stockholm, Sweden. A simultaneous multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the outcome variable whether the overall route environment hinders or stimulates bicycle commuting and environmental factors (e.g., exhaust fumes, speeds of motor vehicles, greenery), as well as background factors (sex, age, education, income) as predictor variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that in suburban areas, the factors aesthetics, greenery and bicycle paths seem to be, independently of each other, stimulating factors for bicycle commuting. On the other hand, flows of motor vehicles, noise, and low "directness" of the route seem to be hindering factors. A comparison of these results with those obtained from an inner urban area points to the importance of studying different types of built-up areas separately.
authors.affiliation: The Research Unit for Movement, Health and Environment, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, GIH, SE-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden. lina.wahlgren@gih.se.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wahlgren
authors.affiliation: The Research Unit for Movement, Health and Environment, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, GIH, SE-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden. peter.schantz@gih.se.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schantz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001642:Bicycling; D004779:Environment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D014186:Transportation; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult