In honor of National Bike Month, we’re spotlighting how bicycles are tools for personal empowerment, social justice and community development with our “Where the Ride Takes Us” web series. Today’s post is an excerpt from a feature I wrote for the March-April issue of Momentum magazine on the impact of bicycles on local business. This section is particularly fitting as League staff is in Memphis today attending the Tennessee Bike Summit!
Pat Brown was just hoping to hang on in a tough economy. When she relocated her art gallery in 2008, it was the rock-bottom rent that drew her to a still struggling strip of downtown Memphis, TN. “We were just trying to survive,” she said.
Brown (pictured right) was betting on a small core of community members determined to transform Broad Avenue from a fast-moving thoroughfare, where traffic whizzed past boarded-up storefronts at 50 mph (80 km/h), into a bustling arts district. Little did she know that they would hit the jackpot with bicycling.
Shortly after Brown opened T Clifton Gallery, Sarah Newstok walked in. The local nonprofit Newstok led, Livable Memphis, had a vision for Broad Avenue, too. They wanted to build a protected bike lane that would pass right by Brown’s door, creating a vital connection between a popular multi-use trail and the city’s largest park. “We’re a retail business, so any time there’s a concept to bring additional traffic directly by your storefront, it’s very easy to say ‘yes,’” Brown recalled with a laugh.
In 2010, after garnering support from city officials and surrounding businesses, Livable Memphis and the Broad Avenue Arts District rolled out the idea in a dramatic way. They painted temporary bike lanes and crosswalks and invited the community to “A New Face for an Old Broad,” a celebration, complete with live music, street vendors and a kids’ bike parade down the freshly striped cycle track (photo below).
“Until then, the area had been doing art walks once a year and, at best, those were bringing in 1,000 people,” Brown said. “Our goal for this day-and-a-half event, where the street itself would be a sort of theatrical performance, was maybe 5,000 people. We had 15,000 show up. The energy level was incredible. It was a huge tipping point for us – it changed the trajectory of the revitalization efforts.”
The energy didn’t wane once the event was over and bicyclists started taking advantage of the temporary lanes. Since then, the promise of permanent facilities has drawn more than $6 million in private investment. More than 15 new businesses have opened and nearly 30 properties have been renovated. Traffic has slowed, new customers are arriving on two wheels and, suddenly the rock-bottom neighborhood is one of the hottest spots in town.
Memphis isn’t the only city where bicycling is bringing business. Increasingly leaders in the public and private sector are realizing that being bike-friendly makes good business sense, boosting the bottom line and promoting community-wide economic development. Bicycling in the United States is a $6 billion national industry and one study estimates that the spillover effects of recreational bicycling alone could be as large as $133 billion. But that’s just the beginning, barely scratching the surface of the economic impact of transportation bicycling in communities across North America…
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
With more than 40 years of experience in the field, including more than two decades as an executive at Schwinn, Townley understands the business of bikes. Now a senior partner at the Gluskin Townley Group, which conducts the national American Bicyclist Survey, he also has insight on the other side of the coin — what makes consumers tick.
And his key take-away from the 2012 survey? Women are the new majority… so stop pink-washing!
This year at the National Bike Summit and the Women’s Bicycling Forum, we’re highlighting how Bicycling Means Business — creating jobs, boosting economic development and making our communities stronger. To get you geared up, we’ll explore the “Economic Impact of Women Bicyclists” on our next Women Bike webinar with Jay Townley and Elliot Gluskin on Wednesday, February 27th, at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Bringing businesses aboard the bike advocacy boat can be an unsteady maneuver.
But joining forces with these powerful champions does more than provide a wind at your back — engaging businesses in bike advocacy is critical to building connected cycling networks in any community.
Understanding the importance of cultivating these allegiances, the League will get you sailing in the right direction with a workshop on “Bringing Businesses on Board” at the 2013 National Bike Summit.
We’ll have three very unique voices discussing the best strategies to get businesses on board with your local bike mission.
Kimberly-Clark’s Cycling Ambassador Rob Gusky will share what’s worked to get the bicycling program spinning at his Fortune 500 Company and new techniques to make a bike campaign irresistible from one of the most successful corporations in the world.
BikePGH’s Lou Fineberg will discuss social enterprise bike advocacy and how the organization is engaging more urban businesses while increasing bike parking, car-free Fridays, and their employer-recognition program.
Zahra Alabanza (pictured) from Red, Bike and Green will share insight from a model campaign in Atlanta to secure dedicated bike lanes in one of the oldest African-American neighborhoods in the country — by building support with local businesses.
Don’t miss this important workshop — Register for the Summit today!
Alison Dewey League Program Manager, BFB & BFU
Dewey joined the League in 2008. For four years prior to that, Dewey worked for Massachusetts- based Landry’s Bicycles and served on the board of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. Dewey has a MA in International Relations and Communications from Boston University and is a graduate of St. Olaf College. She spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal.
We know bicycling is a simple to solution to many complex problems. One of the most pressing and politically prominent problems over the past few years has been the struggling economy, as states and cities compete to attract employers, workers, young people, and visitors, while tightening their budgets.
Bicycling has an important role in making communities attractive places to visit, live, and work. And we can prove it — with numbers. And we will at the National Bike Summit.
More than ever transportation decision makers and elected officials are open to the argument that balanced multi-modal transportation systems, that include safe and attractive bicycling and walking, have positive benefits for communities. But the message needs to be delivered without hyperbole and with real world examples close to home.
That’s what the National Bike Summit is all about: bringing bicyclists from all of the country to Washington, D.C., to tell stories from their own communities about the power – in this case, the economic power – of bicycling; and to do it armed with latest, local, regional, and national research and data.
Whether it’s in meeting on the Hill or closer to home, the best thing you can do is tell your personal story. Whether it’s about your own shopping habits by bike, a new bicycle business district, or your family’s household transportation savings to buy more locally produced goods, those stories build the credibility of the economic argument and show real-world impacts for the policymaker’s constituents.
But since we also live in a policy climate in which everything needs to be quantified, we need to marshal supporting data. At the Summit we will be hosting a panel, Bicycling Means Business: Getting the Facts Straight, to lay out the latest research on the economic impacts of active transportation, bicycling events, bicycle tourism, and the full range of societal benefits of bicycling.
The panel will be the very first public presentation of new research from:
Charles Brown, Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center, presenting “Economic Impacts of Active Transportation on New Jersey’s Economy”
Kristin Dahl, Travel Oregon, presenting “The Power of the Pedal: Economic Impact study of Bike Tourism”
Jerry Norquist, National Bicycle Tour Directors Association, presenting “The Economics of Bicycle Events”
Ken Colburn, Symbiotic Strategies LLC, presenting “Analyzing and Quantifying the Multiple Benefits of Bicycling” (with Christopher James)
The results of this new work are on such super-secret lockdown that I can’t even preview them here. But in the meantime you can read all about the economic impacts of bicycling in our Advocacy Advance report. To help attendees with their Hill meetings, each presenter will identify a key talking point or two from their research that attendees will be able to use in the Congressional meetings and at home.
From Travel Orgeon’s Kristin Dahl, here’s an example of how to relate a personal story to a broad economic benefits argument:
This panel alone is probably worth the trip to the Summit, but even if you can’t make it, you can learn more about the Summit and how it will improve implementation of the new transportation bill, MAP-21, by joining our Advocacy Advance National Bike Summit webinar tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern. Caron Whitaker and I will talk about:
The current political landscape
Framing the message
The Summit theme, the “ask”, and MAP-21
The outstanding lineup of speakers
The League’s Women Bike and Equity Advisory Council
And what you can do in your home district, even if you can’t make the Summit
We hope to have you on the webinar tomorrow and/or at the Summit in March. Let’s build a bicycle-friendly America!
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
The National Bike Summit has a long history of being the premier advocacy event of the year — and we couldn’t be more excited about the line-up for 2013.
First of all, thank you to the many people who shared great session ideas in our call for proposals. We wish we could incorporate all of them — and did our best to include at least some aspect the vast majority of your diverse submissions.
In line with our “Bicycling Means Business” theme, we’ll have specific tracks exploring the economic benefits of bicycling and how to take advantage of federal funding through the new transportation law, MAP-21.
But that’s not all.
We want to move beyond static Powerpoint presentations and engage YOUR ideas, too. So this year, you can role play effective communications tactics to engage your elected officials, sharpen your press strategy with an interactive storytelling workshop and, perhaps most importantly, help us develop a “Bicycling Agenda for 2014 and Beyond.”
The workshops compliment an exciting group of plenary speakers, as well. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) will join Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and other political leaders — and we can’t wait to hear Yolanda Cade of AAA.
Stay tuned for the announcement of more keynote speakers, four exciting pecha kuchas, and the complete Summit schedule later this week.
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
The founder of the first company to manufacture and market bikes built specifically for women, she challenged the very structure and design of the bicycle. Both an entrepreneur and an advocate, Terry dared to follow her passion and ingenuity and grew a basement operation into an internationally known brand.
And on March 4, she’ll be the opening keynote at the Women Bike event at the start of the 2013 National Bike Summit. Register today!
With a theme of Women Mean Business, this all-day event will continue the momentum of the National Women’s Bicycling Summit in Long Beach this fall and once again bring together women from all aspects of the bicycle movement to learn, network and be inspired. And, when it comes to women bike business leaders, Georgena Terry is quite simply a legend.
As Susi Wunsch, founder of Velojoy and Women Bike advisory board member, sums up:
Georgena Terry began to ponder the subtleties of bicycle fit, notably for smaller women like herself, while working as a young engineer in the 1980s. Her fascination with how women’s physiology relates to frame geometry led her to teach herself how to build bicycles in her spare time. “I never liked working for a big corporation,” she says now. “I think I always knew that I would end up doing something on my own.”
That “something” turned out to be the founding in 1985 of Terry Precision Cycling, the first woman-specific bicycle company. At a time when women’s options were still limited to men’s bikes and apparel, Terry listened. She focused on problem-solving for women who, for example, couldn’t clear the top tube of a men’s frame or who suffered neck and shoulder pain from having to reach too far for handlebars. Early on, a male-dominated industry was less than encouraging. But Terry, who considers being called an “absolute maverick” the highest compliment, and who has since been widely recognized with industry distinctions, achieved success by innovating — creating women’s bicycles, saddles and apparel that enhance comfort and performance.
Terry sold controlling interest in the company to private investor Liz Robert in 2009. Today, from her base outside Rochester, NY, she continues to make bicycles, working directly with customers on measurements and specifications and having the classic steel frames manufactured by Waterford Precision Cycles in Wisconsin. “I’ve got no overhead, no rent, I don’t build a bike until I sell it,” Terry says. Perhaps that’s one reason why this petite legend estimates that she’ll log 6,500 miles on her own bike this year…
And the cycling maverick couldn’t be more excited to join us. “The National Bike Summit has a great reputation,” Terry says. “I’m honored to be speaking at the Women Mean Business event — a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and meet new advocates for cycling.”
This event will sell out — sign up today! And stay tuned for more program details in coming weeks!
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Before returning to D.C. this fall, I lived — and became a bike advocate — in Atlanta. Late last month, I Megabus-ed 12 hours south to help the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and Red, Bike and Green-Atlanta (a chapter I helped to co-found) gather support for dedicated bike lanes in one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the country: Sweet Auburn Avenue.
Atlanta recently broke ground on a Street Car Project that will increase connectivity between downtown and the King National Historic site, a top tourist attraction. While city officials are pushing the project forward, there remains some concern that shuttling tourists from downtown to the historic site would preclude those tourist from spending their dollars with local businesses along the route. Also, as a city crippled by subpar transit, the Street Car provides little benefit to local citizens. So, in order to garner more support for the project the city initially promised to put in bike lanes along the street car route.
After this proposal won the support of local residents and cycling groups the city came back with another proposal that would maintain full bike lanes on one street and leave the other with interrupted bike lanes that are less safe. Well, the street that would be shortchanged is Auburn Avenue.
The mostly black neighborhood has struggled in recent years, while seeing a parallel street become a major bike thoroughfare that has blossomed economically — proving yet again that bikes mean business. Red, Bike and Green — a group focused on encouraging more blacks to bike in their communities — partnered with ABC and SOPO Bicycle Co-Op to host a bicycle tour of Sweet Auburn showcasing this incredible historical gem and gather the support of the community to advocate for complete bike lanes along the street.
Before the tour though, it was time to get some signatures on our Letter of Support from local businesses and residents. Red, Bike and Green- Atlanta Co-Founder, Zahra Alabanza and I set out walking up and down Auburn Ave for the rest of the afternoon. Auburn Ave is lined with some of the oldest black businesses and buildings in the nation but is in the top 10 most endangered historic places in the country, as well.
The street is no stranger to bike activism either, after a 1890 ordinance segregated the original Street Cars in Atlanta, a group of black citizens and Auburn Ave business owners led a boycott to appeal the law. What was their preferred mode of travel? Bicycles.
The tour took us to several major historical spots along Auburn Ave. including Dr. Martin Luther King’s birth home; the headquarters of the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (group founded in part by Dr. King); the oldest black barbershop in America; the Peacock nightclub, which, at one point, was the sole venue where black acts could perform; and some major black historical churches Big Bethel, Old Wheat Street and Ebenezer. Zahra provided some history about the area while Atlanta Bicycle Coalition ED Rebecca Serna pointed out the parts of Auburn that would have gotten bike lanes in the original proposal and explained the importance of connectivity to the rest of the city.
RBG-ATL Co-Founder Zahra Alabanza
ABC ED Rebecca Serna
An old ad using stereotypical depictions of black children still on the walls
Street art honoring Civil Rights Hero John Lewis
Community activist Mtamanika Youngblood, CEO at Historic District Development Corporation educating riders about keeping the community affordable for its original residents
After all that riding and learning it was time to refuel and talk about what we’d seen. As part of our outreach efforts a local restaurant welcomed us to dine with them at a nice discount. Oh and DINE we did at Mangoes Caribbean Restaurant! After devouring a delicious dinner it was off to more merriment at the historic Pal’s Lounge. The owner at Pal’s not only committed to having a bike rack installed when he saw all the bikers swarming into his spot, but he also had a drink ready for us in anticipation. If you visit Atlanta and end up at Pal’s make sure you order “The Spoke” and tell them RBG sent you.
Of course, the Sweet Auburn Ride was just my first stop back in Atlanta. Stay tuned for my next post about the Georgia-lina Bike Summit!
Hamzat Sani Equity and Outreach Fellow
Hamzat joined the League in September 2012 after working with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. Before working in biking, Hamzat worked with Martin Luther King Jr.’s son as a Program Associate at The King Center in Atlanta. A founder of the Red, Bike and Green chapter in Atlanta, Hamzat sees biking as a hub for change on the communal level.
All eyes were on the economy in 2009 when the League released its report on The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments. In the three years since there’s been a steady stream of research confirming the positive impact bicycling has on business districts, jobs, and household savings. To capture this growing body of evidence, Darren Flusche, League Policy Director, has updated the report with a wealth of new data and information.
Click here to download the map and here to read the full report.
Carolyn Szczepanski Communications Director
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
After the dramatic twists and turns of bike advocacy on Capitol Hill this year and last, Congress passed a new federal transportation law that dramatically cuts funding for bicycling. Now more than ever, lawmakers need to hear from dealers that bicycling has a big impact on local economies from coast to coast.
The NBDA is giving dealers this chance.
Dealers who are members of NBDA and first-time attendees of the National Bike Summit are invited to fill out a quick online questionnaire (www.bikeleague.org/nbda12) to be entered to win one of 25 $1,000 sponsorships to attend the 2013 Summit.
“Our members are the premier dealers in the United States,” says Fred Clements, executive director of NBDA. “Perhaps more than any other attendee, dealers are able to directly connect how bicycling affects a congressmembers’s district, and why bicycling means business.”
The League is administering the program on behalf of NBDA, and promoting the scholarships to broaden the applicant and attendee pool. “Having lots of dealers at the Summit each year is a big part of our success,” says Andy Clarke, League president. “We are happy to be partnering with NBDA to ensure 25 dealers join us for the first time this year.”
Carolyn joined the League in March 2012, after two years at the Alliance for Biking & Walking. In addition to managing the League's blog, magazine and other communications, Carolyn organized the first National Women's Bicycling Summit and launched the League's newest program: Women Bike. Before she crossed over to advocacy, she was a professional journalist for nearly 10 years.
Large rides like RAGBRAI support local economies by bringing thousands of riders to small communities (Photo: Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register)
Bicycling generates $364.8 million in direct and indirect benefits to the state of Iowa every year, according to a new study, “Economic and Health Benefits of Bicycling in Iowa.” The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI, may be the most visible expression of this, but it is not alone.
“RAGBRAI is a huge event and known across the world. Communities in Iowa understand the economic potential of the event.”says Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. “This study shows there is a reason to be encouraging more bicycling everyday.”
The study was conducted for the Iowa Bicycle Coalition by the University of Northern Iowa Sustainable Tourism and Environment Program (STEP). It was sponsored by a grant from Bikes Belong, Creating Great Places, and members of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition.
The Iowa Bicycle Coalition hopes that this research will encourage the state to increase funding for bicycling. “This study indicates there is a solid return on investment through trails with more than $21 million being returned to the state in the form of sales tax,” says Wyatt. “There is more we can do, in addition to trails, to encourage more bicycling in Iowa.”
Communities welcome RAGBRAI riders (Photo: Christopher Gannon/The Des Moines Register)
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Construction costs are increasing, according to the Washington State DOT, which tracks costs in several western states. For example, after a steep decline from its peak in 2009, the cost of hot mix asphalt is beginning to tick back up. As state budgets are tightening, it is a good time to invest in transportation projects — like bicycling projects — that rely less on materials and commit a greater share of their totals costs to labor, putting people to work.
In June, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, released their report, Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure: A National Study of Employment Impacts, which showed that for each million dollars spent, bicycling projects create 46 percent more jobs than road-only projects. In addition to the employment benefits, as DOTs face shrinking budgets and rising costs of materials, bicycling projects can provide the biggest bang for the buck.
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create more jobs per dollar spent than other road construction projects, according to America Bikes‘ press release and the new study, Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure: A National Study of Employment Impacts, conducted and released this month by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The report builds on an earlier PERI case study of Baltimore, Md. and is the first national study to compare job creation of bicycling and walking infrastructure with other roadway construction projects. Using actual bid price and cost data, the study compares 58 projects in 11 cities and finds that bike projects create 46 percent more jobs than road projects without bike or pedestrian components.
On average, the “road-only” projects evaluated created 7.8 jobs per million, while the “bicycling-only” projects provided 11.4 jobs per million. For example, a roadway-focused project with no bicycle or pedestrian components in Santa Cruz, Calif. generated 4.94 jobs per $1 million spent. In contrast, a bicycle-focused project in Baltimore, Md. produced 14.35 jobs per million. The PERI reviewers attribute the difference to the simple fact that bicycle and pedestrian projects are often more labor intensive.
“It’s no secret that investing in transportation infrastructure creates jobs and helps the economy,” said Caron Whitaker, campaign director at America Bikes. “This study proves bicycle and pedestrian projects are no exception — in fact, they are especially efficient in creating jobs.”
The study arrives as Congress is writing a six-year Surface Transportation bill, and struggling to continue robust reinvestment in infrastructure while moderating federal spending. Funding for bicycling and walking is part of that debate.
“This report adds to a wealth of studies demonstrating the many economic benefits of investing in bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs,” said Andy Clarke, League president.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
Portland Mayor Sam Adams and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (photo: Portland Mercury)
Speaking to a small group of bicycling advocates at Oregon’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA), Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood acknowledged that times are tough for infrastructure investment. ”Do you know how hard it is to find $100 billion [to cut out of the budget]? It’s not easy,” LaHood said in response to a question, according to the Portland Business Journal.
But bicycling advocates made it clear that we’re not going to stop fighting for a share of the budget to support bicycling, a cost-saving and economy-boosting form of transportation. ”Our national partners have been talking with members of both delegations to focus on the business side of bicycling,” Rob Sadowsky, BTA’s executive director and League board member, told the Business Journal, referring to the messaging at the National Bike Summit. ”The $100 million biking industry in Portland — it includes people who make parts and accessories — can be shared throughout the state.”
The intimate reception held for 70 transportation officials, congressmen and staff, and staff of the US Department of Transportation discussed ways that local, state and national partners can work together to reduce fatalities through partnering on big bold visions such as FHWA’s Toward Zero Deaths.
On his blog, Secretary LaHood called BTA a group that is ”working hard to enhance livability in Portland through transportation innovations.” We’re glad to see they are effectively spreading the message that bicycling is good for the economy and good for communities.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
[Note: As a board member of Bike Walk Mississippi I had the honor of joining advocates from my home state during the Thursday lobby day of last week's National Bike Summit. With the week centered around the economics of bicycling, we decided to let James Moore, bicycle shop owner and National Bicycle Dealer Association Treasurer, take the lead in our meetings with legislators and their staff. What he presented was too good not to share with a wider audience. Similar stories exist in all of our communities- learning and sharing them should be an integral part of all of our work to create a Bicycle Friendly America. -- J. Peel]
In 1984 I opened Moore’s Bicycle Shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. As with any new business, I struggled the first few years getting off the ground. In fact, for the first 16 years it was a one man operation with the occasional part time employee. Things started to change in 1994 after our region received a Transportation Enhancement grant of just over $2.5 million and another in 1999 for $2 million to create the Longleaf Trace multi-use trail.
Since the trail’s opening we have seen a significant increase in bicycling – and business. In the years leading to the opening of the trail, my business struggled to average $220,000 in annual sales with my one part time worker. When the trail opened in 2000, annual sales doubled and have remained at that level since.
Because of this investment into bicycling facilities in our community, my workforce has grown from one part time staff to two full time employees and three to four part time workers overnight. My part time staff are all working to put themselves through school at the local university. In the decade since the trail opened I’ve been fortunate enough to have employed over 30 such students, some of whom stayed with the business through graduation. This increase in staff has generated over half a million in additional payroll because of the increase in our business due to the Longleaf Trace.
As a direct result of this federal investment in our local community, my small business has generated an additional $175,000 in sales tax for the state of which $31,500 (18%) was returned to the city of Hattiesburg.
With this growth in business, I outgrew my small 1,400 square foot store and purchased and remodeled a larger building. I transformed a vacant structure into a 4,500 square foot showroom with a 2,000 square foot warehouse. Along with the purchase were 9 overgrown lots I cleaned up and preserve as a “test ride area” that also serves as open green space for the surrounding neighborhood. At the smaller location I paid $1,400 in property taxes. At our larger facility I now pay over $8,000 in annual property taxes that benefit my city, county and local school district.
Since the trail opened the increase in payroll, property tax and sales tax totals for my small business have been over $750,000- and it’s not just me. The popularity of the Long Leaf Trace has also caused many new business start ups to launch along the 41 mile trail to cater to all of the local and out of state trail users, most of which share similar success stories.
Photo: Rails to Trails Conservancy
Even with all of this, the greatest economic development impact of the Longleaf Trace is yet to be experienced. Downtown Hattiesburg suffered an exodus of retail businesses in the mid 70’s with the opening of the malls. With most buildings sitting vacant for 2 decades, historic downtown Hattiesburg is beginning to be revitalized with restaurants, art galleries and music venues. Investors have now purchased several of the larger buildings to turn into housing that will cater to the 16,000 university students. The final key to this puzzle of success will be the next expansion of the Longleaf Trace which will link the university campus with the expansion of housing downtown. This vital 2 mile extension of the trace connecting the campus to downtown development will rely on Transportation Enhancements for its construction. The trail is critical to this success as it will allow students to live downtown yet be on campus with a 10 minute bicycle ride.
Our local leaders understand that investing in bicycling facilities is also investing in the health and vitality of our community. Without the federal and community investment none of this would have been possible. Without continued federal support, Hattiesburg will struggle in achieving its goals of becoming a more livable and economically vibrant community in which to raise a family, get an education or operate a business.
James Moore can be contacted at Moore’s Bicycle Shop, 1607 Hardy Street Hattiesburg, MS 39401 or (601) 544-1978, tracerider@megagate.com.
Jeff Peel State and Local Advocacy Coordinator
Peel joined the League in March 2008 as a Program Specialist for the Bicycle Friendly Communities program. Peel has a BA in American Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi.
In these economic times, we can only afford to invest in solutions that solve multiple problems. Bicycling and walking programs do that and they are essential to our communities. When every tax dollar has to do the most good, it’s the right time to invest in bicycling. That’s the message at the 2011 National Bike Summit.
We are asking Congress to support continued dedicated funding for vital bicycling and walking programs such as Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and the Recreational Trails Program.
Between 1995 and 2010, the Portland region spent $4.2 billion on roadway improvements and $153 million on all active
transportation improvements.
Since 1990, the City of Portland saw an increase of 14,912 in daily bicycle commute trips and 37,006 in daily auto trips.
The cost of a new auto trip in Portland was approximately 22 times the cost of a new bicycle commute trip
Cost-effective: Between 1995 and 2010, the Portland region spent $4.2 billion on roadway improvements and $153 million on all active transportation improvements. Since 1990, the City of Portland saw an increase of 14,912 in daily bicycle commute trips and 37,006 in daily auto trips. The cost of a new auto trip in Portland was approximately 22 times the cost of a new bicycle commute trip.
By 2040, investments in the range of $138 to $605 million will result in health care cost savings of $388 to $594 million, fuel savings of $143 to $218 million, and savings in value of statistical lives of $7 to $12 billion. The benefit-cost ratios for health care and fuel savings are between 3.8 and 1.2 to 1, and an order of magnitude larger when value of statistical lives is used.
Job creating: A Baltimore study shows that for each $1 million spent, striping bike lanes and signing bike routes creates twice as many jobs as repaving and repairing roads, thank to a favorable labor to materials ratio.
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Around here we love data, so after I sent the latest safety in numbers data around the office, it took Andy less than an hour to try to one-up me. He passed along this graph showing the Portland Metropolitan Region’s expenditures on biking and walking, transit, and motor vehicles (1995 – 2010) along side the number of new daily commute trips by those modes (1990 – 2008). There were increases in the number of commuters for all three modes. What the graph makes clear is how cost-effective the biking and walking investments were. The city spent about 11 times the amount on motor vehicle infrastructure that they spent on active transportation per new commuter.
[Updated, Feb 18th.] “In 2008, Portland had 14,912 more daily bicycle commuters, 13,191 more daily transit commuters and 37,0006 more drive alone commuters than in 1990,” explains Portland’s Bicycle Coordinator, Roger Geller, ”During that time period bicycling grew appreciably compared to population. Drive alone trips dropped, from 67.3% to 64.6%, transit trips grew 18% from 11.4% to 13.4% and bicycling grew 440% from 1.2% to 6.4%.”
Here are the graphs separated out:
If you can’t read the graphs, I’m happy to email them. (Request it at darren [at] bikeleague.org.) The blue bar is the total expenditures (1995 – 2010). The red bar is the increase in daily Portland commute trips (1990 – 2008). The black line towards the bottom is the estimated cost of complete Portland’s 2030 Bicycle Master Plan. UPDATE 2: You can now click on the image for a larger version. Many people — advocates, planners, and other interesting folks — requested the larger version. I would still love to hear how you are using this data.
Thanks to Roger Geller for sending us these graphs.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Almost every day we get fresh confirmation that getting more people on bikes is a good idea, and that the kinds of things we’ve been advocating for years are actually effective and useful. So in the immortal words of the Ian Dury and the Blockheads song, we’ve got reasons to be cheerful…and of Tim Blumenthal, “when people ride bikes, great things happen.”
Today we learned that the percentage of major employers offering financial incentives to their employees to engage in health and wellness programs increase from 57% in 2009 to 62% in 2010 and the average value of that cash incentive rose to $430 per person. 56% of employers found these programs to have a better than expected impact on participation!
A couple of days ago, Science Daily reported on a study that shows exercising outdoors makes people feel better than indoors: “ compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalisation, increased energy and positive engagement, together with decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression. Participants also reported greater enjoyment and satisfaction with outdoor activity and stated that they were more likely to repeat the activity at a later date.
Last month, corporate leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos confirmed that these issues are receiving attention at the highest levels. Two dozen global companies have created a Workplace Wellness Alliance and are reporting “Return on investment of workplace health has been demonstrated to be as high as 4 US dollars per 1 dollar spent, contributing not only to increased productivity but also to better health in the general population with the workplace as an entry point for prevention at community level.”
Obviously the need for this exercise is more compelling than ever. We continue to get fatter at an alarming rate – not just in the US but worldwide, according to the latest numbers reported in the Lancet: “In 2008, an estimated 1.46 billion adults worldwide had a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher, including 502 million who were obese. During the study period, the age-standardized prevalence of obesity increased dramatically in both men (from 4.8% to 9.8%) and women (from 7.9% to 13.8%)”. And we learned that lifestyle, not genetics, is the stronger indicator of longevity and childhood obesity.
So the need for bicycling is there and the corporate world is clearly realizing the benefits of wellness to their bottom line. We’re just about to enter the review phase for the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Business applications; it will be interesting to see if bicycling is featuring more in their collective definition of what constitutes “wellness” programming. Earlier this week Darren wrote about the Minneapolis “safety in numbers” report, which adds to the body of knowledge that suggests that getting more people to ride is not only NOT a dangerous thing to be doing, but actually improves the overall level of safety for everyone riding. So come on corporate America…let’s get people riding!
Andy Clarke League President
Andy Clarke was appointed to the position of Executive Director in April of 2004 after successfully leading efforts to create, interpret and implement the various transportation programs that are available to improve conditions for bicycling and walking as the League’s State and Local Advocacy Director. Before joining the League in February 2003, Clarke was on contract to provide technical assistance to the highly regarded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center on site at the Federal Highway Administration. He is on the Board of Directors for America Bikes, and a member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycling Professionals.
We are often asked to address the dubious claim that bicyclists do not help pay for roads. We have long argued that since many of 57 million adult bicyclists in this country are also drivers, and that since much of the government’s transportation spending comes from property taxes, general fund allocations, bond issues, and fare boxes of transit systems, we’re all paying into the system. A new report is perhaps making our job a little easier.
The U.S. PIRG Education Fund recently released a report, called “Do Roads Pay for Themselves? Setting the Record Straight on Transportation Funding” that busts the myth that “user fees” paid by drivers pay for all road costs. The one-two punch of myth-busting boils down to these two points: 1. Gasoline taxes aren’t “user fees” in the way the phrase implies, and 2. highways don’t pay for themselves.
First, the user fee argument. A user fee implies a direct connection to the fee and the use, for example admission to a state park or a toll road. However, when you pay the gas tax, you may not ever use the highways or other transportation projects that the tax is helping to pay for. When the gas tax was first implemented to pay down the deficit and since 1973 the gas tax has been used to pay for many useful transportation projects beyond highways. It’s not a user fee.
Second, the highways-pay-for-themselves argument. The report explains that since 1947, expenditures on highways, roads and streets have exceeded the amount generated through the gas tax and other fees by $600 billion. The subsidy for highways is as significant today as it has ever been. Current “user-fees” pay for only about half of the costs of highway and road building and maintenance.
The report concludes that the misconception that roads pay for themselves through a direct user fee distorts our transportation planning, by making roads look cheaper than they are.
For cyclists, this is just another good reminder that all of us are paying into the road system, either as drivers or through general taxes. The roads belong to all of us.
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
According to a new report by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst says that building bike lanes and pedestrian projects, and bike boulevards, creates more job per million dollars spent than road repairs and road resurfacing.
The study, “Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure,” which examines the costs of engineering, construction, and materials for different types of projects in the city of Baltimore, concludes that, for a given amount of spending, bike lanes create about twice as many jobs as road construction. The difference lies in the varying labor intensity and the ratio of engineering costs to construction expenses across project types. Footway repairs and bike lane signing are labor intensive, meaning that a greater share of the total cost goes to pay people than in material heavy road projects. “Each $1 million spent creating on-street bike lanes directly creates 7.9 jobs and creates a total of 14.4 jobs when we include the indirect and induced effects,” the author, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, writes, “The two categories of road repairs have the lowest employment effects, with 3-4 direct jobs and approximately 7 total jobs created for each $1 million.”
Here’s the report’s conclusion:
Investment in transportation infrastructure of all types will generate employment in various industries throughout Baltimore and the State of Maryland. In this case study we find that investments in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure create the most employment for a given level of expenditure. While road construction projects create approximately 7 jobs per $1 million spending, pedestrian projects create over 11 jobs for the same level of spending, and bicycle projects create up to 14 jobs. Other studies have shown that investments in bicycle and pedestrian facilities can reduce carbon emissions and improve quality of life. Here we find that these investments bring an additional benefit to the community: they are an important source of job creation.
This new data is just the latest indication that investing in bicycling infrastructure is good for the economy. It should come in handy in March at the National Bike Summit.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
The League, along with its partners in the America Bikes Coalition, would like to thank Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lieberman (I-CT) on the introduction of the American Power Act. We are excited that they have included policy necessary to lay the foundation to make significant advances in addressing the impact of transportation on our climate, energy dependence and mobility. Riding bikes means cleaner air, and the more infrastructure available for bicyclists – the more people will ride!
We support the policy reforms included in the bill because they direct states and regions to spend federal transportation dollars received from the climate bill to build sustainable transportation solutions. The three avenues for funding – Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, (see how Tiger Grants fund bicycling ) the Transportation Efficiency grants, and the Highway Trust Fund with a green screen – give state and local governments several options to invest in low- and no-carbon transportation.
Once again, we thank you for your leadership on the American Power Act and the important policy
gains toward sustainable transportation. We urge you to increase the revenue returning to the
transportation sector, and index that investment to the price of carbon. Click here to read more.
Meghan Cahill League Director of Communications
Cahill joined the League in December 2008 and has a BA in Media Communications with a concentration in Italian Studies from the College of Charleston.
As we pointed out in our report, The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments, studies have shown that real estate property values increase with proximity to bicycle paths. People enjoy living close to bike paths and are willing to pay more for an otherwise comparable house to be closer to one. For example homes within a half mile of the Manon Trail in Indianapolis, Indiana, sell for 14 percent more than comparable houses farther away from the trail.
Photos from LA Times
In recognition of National Bike Month, the Los Angeles Times Business Section published an article this weekend that shows that the value of bicycle paths is not lost on those covering real estate. In an article with the helpful headline “On the Market: Homes Near Bike Paths,” they feature six properties for sale located near close to bicycle facilities. A brief description next to each photo mentions which bicycle path or trails is nearby the property. The values range from just over $300,000 to 1.3 million, which I believe in California, qualifies as something for everyone.
Click on the article to imagine yourself in one of the featured homes-near-paths.
Darren Flusche League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
Blog
Pat Brown was just hoping to hang on in a tough economy. When she relocated her art gallery in 2008, it was the rock-bottom rent that drew her to a still struggling strip of downtown Memphis, TN. “We were just trying to survive,” she said.
Bringing businesses aboard the bike advocacy boat can be an unsteady maneuver.
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