File under "build it and they will come."
According to an article by Charlie Sorrel, "researchers at McGill University have just published a new study detailing how better bike infrastructure encourages people to ditch their cars and commute by bike, cleaning up the city’s air in the process."
The study focuses on Montreal, comparing" car and bike trip information from 1998, 2003, and 2008, along with changes in the 'built environment,' i.e. the increase in bike lanes and other bike-friendly changes."
"The results showed that building bike lanes definitely increases ridership and reduces car commuting, which in turn leads to cleaner air," reports Sorrel. More specifically, "A 10% increase in bike accessibility resulted in only a 3.7% increase in ridership." The article includes more data from the study, including findings on the environmental benefits of the city's new bike infrastructure.
Previous studies on the connection between bike infrastructure investments and increased numbers of bike riders have focused on the quality of the infrastructure investment, i.e., bike lanes are better than sharrows at attracting new bike riders.
FULL STORY: Building Bike Lanes Really Does Get More People Out Of Their Cars
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.