Why More and Safer Bike Paths Make Sense

The Bicycle Dividend (Nancy Folbre, Economix, New York Times, Jul. 4, 2011)

Also discussed here: The Bicycle Dividend (StreetsBlog, Jul. 15 ,2011)

We return to a focus today to the benefits of cycling, on the one hand, compared to the high costs to society of driving cars.



Key Quotes

“More Americans are biking or walking to work these days, in part because public-sector investment is improving the infrastructure they need to get there safely”

“Portland, Ore., tops the list, with 5.8 percent of workers riding to their jobs on a regular basis. Snowy Minneapolis comes in second, at 3.9 percent, and Seattle third, at 3 percent…New York City was still below 1 percent…bike share of local trips ranges from 1 percent in the United States to 18 percent in Denmark to 27 percent in the Netherlands”

“Cars enjoy huge direct subsidies in the form of road construction and public parking spaces.. Yet cars impose major social costs: their use contributes to global warming, traffic congestion, accident fatalities and sedentary lifestyles”

“about 40 percent of all automobile trips in metropolitan areas are less than two miles – a distance easily biked”

“As bike paths on roads attract larger numbers of cyclists, the chance of car-related accidents declines, promoting further use. Safety appears to be a major factor for women in particular”
“Construction of bike paths offers more job creation per infrastructure dollar than investment in roads.”

Related articles

• AAIA #045 - Bicycles: Amsterdam vs. Gainesville (anamericaninamsterdam.com)
• The Queens Plaza Protected Bike Path Is Open for Business (streetfilms.org)
• Jay Walljasper: Why Biking Is More Patriotic Than Flag Waving (huffingtonpost.com)
• Staying home, bikes and Carmageddon (laobserved.com)
• NYC DOT Installs Controversial Bike Lanes On High-Traffic First And Second Avenues In Manhattan (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Heat over bike issue still growing (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Here's How We Can Make Biking Utter Normal and Incredibly Sexy (alternet.org)
• Bicycles Make Sustainable Sense (buildingsustainablelifestyles.wordpress.com)
• New York Deputy Mayor Tells Us Why He Bikes (Video) (treehugger.com)
• Bike-Part Vending Machine Arrives in Minneapolis - Transportation - GOOD (beaststomper.wordpress.com)