Bike Lanes Boost Local Businesses

The debate over whether bike facilities are good or bad for business continues, with studies and plenty of conjecture on both sides. Citing a new report, Bikenomics: Measuring the Economic Impact of Bicycle Facilities on Neighborhood Business Districts, Phil Stamper notes that retail sales performance either remained stable or was much better after bike lanes were installed on several Seattle streets. This finding adds to evidence from a report from NYCDOT, "claiming that businesses saw an improvement in retail sales of up to 49 percent if they were near protected bicycle lanes. This data, however, related to a three-block strip of 9th Ave. Otherwise, there was only a 3 percent boost Manhattan-wide."