Bike lanes can be contentious when they are proposed along retail streets replacing convenient vehicle parking spots. While a bike lane can alter the economic activity in an area, there is growing evidence that in most cases, bike lanes improve the economic activity in an area or at the very least have no negative economic impact. A recent example of such a case is on Bloor St. in the heart of Canada’s most populous city, Toronto. In 2016, the city implemented a pilot project that has now become permanent. The evidence is that along this busy stretch, consumer spending and the number of customers served in businesses along the corridor with the bike lane went up. A recently published study backed up the city’s decision to make the lanes permanent.
The study was published in the Journal of the American Planning Association and was a collaboration between Daniel Arancibia, Steven Farber, Beth Savan, Jeff Allen and Lee Vernich of the University of Toronto, and Yvonne Verlinden and Nancy Smith Lea of The Center for Active Transportation at Clean Air Partnership.
Read the full article: Canadian study shows new Toronto bike lane improved economic activity in the area