An online survey and seven-day travel diary collected health and travel data from intervention area residents, and residents of a control area with similar characteristics and distance from the city, at baseline (n = 846), and follow-up, four months (wave 2; n = 512) and 16 months (wave 3; n = 418) post-construction. Multilevel regression modelling was used to compare changes over time with distance from the cycleway.

Results

In wave 3 24.5% of the intervention group reported using the new cycleway. Residents who started using the cycleway predominantly lived within 1 km of the cycleway (62%); however 13% of users in wave 3 lived more than 3 km from the cycleway. Frequent cycling (weekly) was strongly associated with use of the cycleway (p < 0.001), and remained consistent between waves 2 and 3 (p = 0.3). Changes in cycling frequency associated with distance from the cycleway were observed over time; specifically, those who lived 1.00–2.99 km from the cycleway increased their weekly cycling, compared with those either closer to or further from the cycleway (p = 0.08). These findings were replicated in a smaller sample of cyclists who recorded minutes/week cycling (p = 0.007). Improved social capital was observed in the intervention group over time; however, changes in physical activity and quality of life were not observed within the time period.