One reason that opinions on transportation policy are so emotionally charged – and often outright bizarre – is that far too many of us assume that what’s good for us personally is good for everyone.
“If I can’t get a bus outside my apartment, the transit system is worthless.”
“If I have to pay a toll, the system is unfair.”
“Who needs bike lanes when I will never ride a bike?”
An answer to that last question came recently from an unlikely source who took a wider view clearly at odds with many people’s personal views.
In an article in the Calgary Herald, Bruce Graham, CEO of Calgary Economic Development, wants Calgary to go ahead with a proposed “cycle track network” – protected bike lanes – to benefit the wider economy.
“As the promotional agency tasked with attracting and retaining the best talent, as well as promoting our city’s business and lifestyle advantages around the world, a cycle track network will help us do just that.
“An inner-city cycle track network can boost business. In Colorado, cycling brought more than $1 billion to the state’s local economy, and in New York, after the installation of a protected bike lane, retail sales [along the route] increased by as much as 49% compared to a 3% increase in sales citywide during the same period.
“When San Francisco optimized Valencia Street for cyclists and pedestrians, nearly 40% of merchants reported increased sales and 60% reported more area residents shopping locally due to reduced travel time and convenience. Travelling by bike encourages more frequent stops than travelling by car; a study of Toronto merchants revealed that patrons arriving by foot and bicycle visited the most often and spent the most money per month.
“Business owners would be interested in a study done by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, which found that cycling reduced employee absenteeism – specifically, the employees who cycled to work regularly missed less work, on average more than one day per year less than colleagues who didn’t. And a Minnesota company that encouraged its employees to bike to work saved $170,000 in health care over three years and $301,000 through increased employee productivity every year.”
For Graham, the cool factor of a cycling city means even more in a city that’s fighting a reputation as a headquarters of oilsands pollution:
“And then there’s the social reputation factor: The ‘I didn’t know the city built on energy invested in commuter bike lanes.’
“This is a prime example of the kind of selling feature we use when telling Calgary’s story around the world. People want to live in a city that invests in making the lives of its citizens better. Sixty-two per cent of recent transplants to Portland, Oregon, said that the city’s bike-friendliness was a factor in their decision to move there. By 2018, Calgary’s population is expected to grow by more than 150,000 people. We’d love to add the cycle track network to our people-attraction tool kit before we see tens of thousands of new cars added to our morning commute.
“The major benefit of dedicated bike lanes is they help pedestrians, motorists, transit users and cyclists coexist safely. Even in Calgary’s harshest weather, you’ll see many diehard cyclists making their way to work, and these numbers would increase if we made their commute safer. After New York City installed its first protected bike lane [the first in the U.S.], they saw a reduction in injuries to all street users by 58%.”
Shaking off personal preferences to take a wider view will be the first requirement of a successful outcome in the upcoming transit funding referendum. Everyone depends on someone who takes transit, even people who never get on a bus themselves. •
