Over and Over, Studies Show Bike Lanes Don’t Cause Congestion

In an article for CBC, Nicole Mortillaro highlights research from cities around the world that shows that, despite popular misconceptions, bike lanes do not increase traffic congestion.

The article is in part a response to a contentious proposed Ontario, Canada law that would “would require municipalities to get provincial approval to install any bike lanes that would remove a lane of vehicle traffic.”

According to studies, dedicated bike lanes increase the number of people biking and reduce the number of cars on the street. “Bike Share Toronto statistics show that ridership on its network of shared bikes has increased dramatically since 2015, when 665,000 bike trips were made annually. In 2023, that shot up to 5.7 million trips.”

In New York City, the average time it takes cars to travel on a major thoroughfare decreased from 4.5 minutes to 3 minutes after bike lanes were installed. “Other case studies found either no impacts on traffic, or minimal delays — anywhere from a few seconds to just over a minute.”

The article highlights other studies from Canada and beyond, noting that bike lanes are also shown to increase safety for pedestrians by decreasing traffic speeds. And in many cases, they also bring additional revenue to local businesses.