One sure way to ensure that bicycling will get more respect is to calculate and prove its economic impact on a region.
Wisconsin, for instance, just learned on Tuesday that recreational bicycling annually generates more than $924 million in total economic impact to the state.
Adding the impact of bicycle manufacturing, sales and service industry raises the total to $1.5 billion annually.
Whoa. Suddenly bicyclists are no longer just people who dress funny and compete for a small piece of the road. They're cash cows who contribute mightily to Wisconsin's economic health.
It would be useful if bike advocates in all 50 states had this kind of information to draw upon when lobbying for better facilities for bicyclists.
Reports
Similarly surprising findings are published in most economic impact reports involving recreational bicycling. Recent reports in Pennsylvania proved bicyclists using the Great Allegheny Passage add $40 million to local economies, and those riding the Pine Creek Rail Trail pump $5 million to $7 million a year locally.
The Wisconsin report — entitled Valuing Bicycling's Economic and Health Impacts in Wisconsin — was prepared by the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, a division of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Melissa Whited, a grad student who worked on the report, told the Wisconsin State Journal:
“When we started out this study, we didn't have any idea what the total economic impacts would be. I think without a study like this it's difficult to really understand what it could do for a community.”
“People don't realize..”
The authors of the report saw fit to compare bicycling to another big outdoor activity in Wisconsin. Recreational bike riding surpasses the economic impact of deer hunting, for instance. That's probably not shocking if you compare prices of bicycles to deer rifles.
State Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison), who asked for the report, said:
“People do not realize that bicycling is a big business in Wisconsin. It really is a big part of our economy, in many forms.”
Visitors
Some findings in the report:
— Residents and non-residents directly spend about $533 million annually on bike-trip related expenses;
— Another $391 million is attributed to the multiplier effects, such as increased purchased by restaurants and hotels that serve cyclists;
— Of these combined impacts, $535 million is attributed to bicyclists visiting Wisconsin. A 20% increase by visitors could raise the economic impact by $107 million and create 1,528 jobs.
— A 2006 report determined that manufacturing, sales and service of bicycles in Wisconsin raised about $550 million a year.
Health benefits
Going beyond recreational bicycling, the report considered the impacts of replacing short automobile trips with running errands on a bicycle. The authors concluded that improvements in air quality and the health of adults could yield annual savings valued at more than $400 million.
“By incorporating physical activity into the lives of sedentary Wisconsin residents, bicycling to work could save approximately $319 million a year from reduced morbidity and healthcare costs. In addition, fewer cars on the road would result in a decrease in air pollution by fine particulate matter and ozone. This would not only reduce health problems such as asthma and chronic bronchitis but would further reduce health care costs by almost $90 million annually in Milwaukee and Madison alone.”
Photo above from Bike Wisconsin's Bike Northwoods Tour.
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