Business owners are usually skeptical when planners start talking about removing parking to make space for bike lanes, but study after study has shown bike lanes are good for business. The latest example from Toronto is now exception.
Eric Jaffe shares news of a new study that analyzes data from the city of Toronto to produce findings that are in keeping with previous studies: bike lanes are good for business.
A group of researchers from the University of Toronto and the Center for Active Transportation conducted surveys of merchants and visitors before and after the installation of a bile lane along a 1.5-mile stretch of Bloor Street that raised local concerns when first proposed.
After requesting information about spending, customer counts, visit frequency, and vacancies, the survey's findings present "good news across the board," according to Jaffe. Monthly spending rose, the number of customers rose, the frequency of visits rose, and vacancies held steady.
After detailing the findings and also providing a few caveats, Jaffe notes the unanswered questions about the effect of bike infrastructure on business:
Just why bike lanes have a neutral-to-positive impact on spending remains an open question. The strongest theory — one supported by the Bloor study — is that while cyclists lacking a car trunk might not make large purchases, they make more total purchases over a given period, since an area is now easier and safer for them to visit.
Read the full story: The latest evidence that bike lanes are good for business
Ontario Judge Saves Toronto Bike Lanes
A court order bars the provincial government from removing bike lanes, saying the decision would make roads more dangerous and fail to reduce congestion.
Toronto's Expanded its Bike Infrastructure Network to Run Parallel to Transit Lines
The Toronto City Council approved a quick expansion of bike lanes around the city to provide an alternative to public transit during and after the pandemic.
A Compelling Case for Protected Bike Lanes
A pilot project of cycle tracks on several streets in Toronto produced almost shockingly positive results for all users of the street. At very little cost, the new bike infrastructure increased total street capacity and improved safety.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority