Study: Biking Infrastructure Projects Create More Jobs Than Auto-Based Initiatives

[laphoque]

http://www.fastcompany.com/1717449/s...ed-initiatives

Plus they're orders of magnitude cheaper than auto projects. They can cost just the price of paint, or cement for a separating barricade if you want to get all fancy like NYC. And they don't turn your kids' breathing air into a sewer.

[wolverine]

More importantly, it's better for businesses. Instead of zooming by in car, people on a bike are more likely to notice a sign or something in a store window that may be of interest. I've discovered plenty of new places I like by biking that I otherwise would have missed in a car.

[East Detroit]

Biking infrastructure already exists. It's called roads.

[wolverine]

^ Not entirely true. You are starting to see more sophisticated infrastructure. For areas where there is higher number of commuters on bikes, the humble path is becoming configured to look like an expressway with on ramps, grade separation, pedestrian separation, passing lanes, etc.

I've also had issues getting stuck in bike traffic jams. Your standard bike lane is ineffective because it only allows space for 1 cyclist. And sometimes it's difficult to pass in a vehicular traffic lane. The situation becomes worse when 3 dozen cyclists begin to stack up at a red light. This is why they need engineers and tons of planning to get bicycle infrastructure right. It's not as easy as laying down a stripe of paint in the road. There's studies and commuting patterns that need to be done.

My city recently got federal funding to build a $40 million flyover ramp that will elevate a bike trail over 2 street intersections. and widen a section over a bridge. The project will reduce injuries at intersections and widen clearances that will allow for faster speeds and reduce congestion.

[wolverine]

Bicycling boosts Wisconsin's economy by $1.5 billion annually


Short and sweet description from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin
http://www.bfw.org/education/index.php?category_id=4746

There's also a link to the study on their website done by the University of Wisconsin

[oladub]

Bicycling boosts Wisconsin's economy by $1.5 billion annually

$1.5B is more than the value of Wisconsin's corn, soybean, and hay crop put together. I'm guessing that the number is a self-serving padded number meant to enhance to existence of the environmental studies program that came up with the number.

Exaggeration or not, toss your high end TREK bikes into the back of your pickup anyway and come to Wisconsin where we don't have toll roads. Bring a flashlight for the Elroy Sparta trail because those tunnels are without light. Order the free State biking maps to find good biking roads everywhere. Spend a day biking on designated trails in lovely Madison. When it gets too dark to bike, enjoy the beer, brat, and fried cheese curd culture of Wisconsin's 18,692 taverns [[one bar per 303 residents). Help make the numbers come true.