Cities move over to the bicycle lane
US cities trying to attract young residents and the businesses that hire them are increasingly finding magic in the bike lane.
With more people pedalling for transportation and recreation, lanes separated from traffic have almost doubled since 2011 and may again by 2016, according to People For-Bikes, a Colorado advocacy group that tallies them.
There were almost 150 protected lanes in 41 cities and about 200 projects planned, the group said. New York, Chicago and Memphis are adding lanes, bike-sharing services and other infrastructure for an option prized by many born after 1980 and the employers who want their services.
“Young folks are looking for choice,” said Memphis mayor AC Wharton, who has installed 2.9km of lanes since 2013 and has plans for 35.4km by 2016. “The minute they see that, it dispels the notion that Memphis is stuck in a time warp.”
Wharton said this was a big change from two decades ago when the few cyclists in Memphis were called “hippies” or “weirdos”.
The number of bicycle commuters increased about 60% since 2000 to 786 000 in 20082012, a larger percentage increase than that of any other travel mode, according to a US Census report in May.
Even as some residents complained about losing parking, leaders in cities with limited ability to handle more cars saw that cycling made sense, said Martha Roskowski of People-For Bikes. “It’s not because they are passionate about bikes. They’re seeing that bikes are a tool for helping to make their cities work better.”
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel promised in 2011 to install 161km of protected lanes by the following year.
“Improving our bicycling facilities is critical to creating the quality of life in Chicago that attracts businesses and families,” said Emanuel in April when announcing that the city was halfway to his goal.
He pointed out decisions by Google’s Motorola Mobility unit. Bicycle access was one consideration when the company moved its global headquarters and about 2 000 employees downtown in April, said spokesman William Moss.
Chicagoans take an average of almost 125 000 daily bike trips and cycling to work more than tripled from 2000 to 2012, according to the Active Transportation Alliance.
Putting on a helmet at the end of the day, Terry Park said lanes were “one of the perks” of living in Chicago. He rides 15 minutes to and from work, rain or shine, even in winter.
“The bike lanes help,” said Park. “I tend to ride the streets that have them.”
Each $1-million (R10.7-million) invested in bicycling infrastructure creates 11.4 jobs for a state, said a 2011 study by Heidi Garrett-Peltier of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Budgets for biking and walking projects in the 50 most populous US cities rose to $292.3million in 2012 from $261.8-million the year before, according to an Alliance for Biking & Walking report in April.
The more than 1 840km of unprotected bike lanes in those cities dwarfs the number of protected tracks, according to the report. Yet protected lanes appeal to those who may not be comfortable riding near cars. They were a key part of a network that includes bike trails and open lanes, said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists.
“There’s a place for all of those things in a well-designed, well-thought-out urban transportation system,” said Clarke. — Bloomberg