Four reasons US business leaders want to import Danish-style cycling | The Guardian


San Francisco urban cycling protected bike lanes
Cyclists on Market Street San Francisco Photograph: People For Bikes
Cities are driving the US economic recovery, and as they do, Americans are getting on their bikes. In 85 of the 100 largest metro areas cycling is increasing. All part of a deeply healthy – and profitable – reshaping of urban economies.
"Cities that invest in biking infrastructure are going to win," predicts Jeff Judge, a Chicago-based digital marketing entrepreneur, who said the presence of on-street protected bike lanes was his number-one factor in assessing a city to locate in. "It's better for business, planning, infrastructure. It's better all round."
After years of battling "the business community" for every inch of road space, many cycling advocates seem disoriented by the idea they might now be on the same side. But from Denver to Memphis, some of the loudest voices for a move toward Danish-style protected cycling infrastructure are those who sign the paychecks. In last month's report (PDF) for US non-profit People For Bikes, which I co-authored with Mary Lauran Hall of the Alliance for Biking and Walking, we outlined four reasons why:

Protected bike routes increase retail visibility and sales volume per parking space

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