Report: Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business

From the Alliance for Biking and Walking

It’s easy to see that we’re living in a changing country.

The economy is slowly bouncing back after the biggest slowdown since the Great Depression. For the first time in two generations, Americans are moving to cities in record numbers. And during all this, more and more people are expressing a preference for living in places where bicycling is easy and comfortable.

City leaders and business leaders alike are taking note. And, in responding to these trends, they have discovered an unexpected tool to create opportunities in growing downtown economies: the protected bike lane.

In a new report from PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking, 15 entrepreneurs and business leaders from major U.S. cities explain how protected bike lanes - on-street lanes that are physically separated from automobile traffic by curbs, planters, parked cars or posts - has meant big benefits for their companies.

The report combines this original reporting with an overview of the latest academic and technical research to find changes associated with four mega-trends. [Continued ...]

Poster's note: Eliminate a side of car parking on Newark's Main Street in favor of a protected bike lane and increased bike parking.