Planners today will require new methods of quantifying proposed projects. A paper I wrote with a fellow planning student demonstrated a new methodological approach to understanding the impact of bicycle infrastructure on accessibility. Our paper combined the level of traffic stress index developed by the Mineta Institute to measure the quality of bicycle infrastructure and an energy consumption method of limiting distance.
Incorporating energy consumption with the level of traffic stress offers a more nuanced view of bikeability by demonstrating the impact of elevation on accessibility, which allows planners to better quantify the impact of bicycle infrastructure. Using stress level restrictions as scenarios, planners can evaluate the impact of bicycle improvements with greater precision.
The attached file is the full paper, which I encourage you to read.