COMBINED EXPERT, STAKEHOLDER AND CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT FOR PRIORITY SETTING OF CYCLING MOBILITY STRATEGIES USING ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

Transport planning is not a simple task, in particular at the urban scale, because it implies decisions that (1) affect stakeholders with conflicting interests and (2) needs to be evaluated considering different criteria. Involving stakeholders and citizens in the decision-making process is a necessary condition for reaching consensus, while guarantying transparency and pursuing sustainability. The use of sound Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods can support the decision-making process characterized by multiple criteria and multiple points of view. This paper presents an approach based on the MCDM method called Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to support a public participated planning process where experts, stakeholders and citizens were involved in setting the priorities for cycling mobility in an urban context. AHP hierarchy was built by a panel of experts and stakeholders engaged in an evaluation process where their opinions' convergence was facilitated by the Delphi method. A simplified online questionnaire based on the AHP hierarchy was used to involve the general public by eliciting their preferences. The ranking of alternatives derived from citizens was significantly different from the one derived from the panel, showing that they have diverse views about the priorities for cycling mobility. A small test sample represented by students was also asked to answer to both questionnaires (AHP and simplified) to investigate the robustness of their judgments and see if there are any differences in the results obtained. The collective ranking obtained with the simplified questionnaire is more in line with individual preferences, suggesting that a simpler, easier to understand questionnaire is to be preferred when a non-expert audience is involved. In conclusion, a tailored approach is needed to elicit experts, stakeholders and citizens' preferences, while using solid decision-support methods. The proposed AHP-based approach proves to be a useful tool for decision-makers and planners to support them when dealing with public decisions affecting multiple stakeholders and to guide them in planning effective participation process.