Update: Jan. 14, 2011 — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood cites this study in urging bicycle advocates to “participate in the process” to get adequate funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects
How can Congress and other public officials put more Americans back to work? For starters, they could choose to increase funding for bike lanes and bike boulevards.
A study of some public works projects in Baltimore came up with the surprising results that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create more employment per $1 million of spending than road repair and resurfacing projects.
No one is suggesting that repairing our deteriorating road and highway network is a waste of effort. But I don't think many people realized that spending on bike lanes and boulevards gets a bigger bang for the buck when it comes to employment.
Projects compared
The findings were included in a study written by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst entitled “Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure.”
The compared the costs and employment of five types of public works projects: (1) footway repairs; (2) on-street bike lanes; (3) planned bike boulevard; (4) road repairs and up-grades; and (5) basic road resurfacing.
The study not only counted the construction and engineeing jobs created directly, but also jobs created indirectly in the concrete and sign manufacturing industries, as well as the induced effect of jobs created in retail, health-care and food services.
Breakdown
Here's the breakdown, per $1 million of spending (see page 2 of the report):
Pedestrian projects — 11.3 jobs
Bike lanes — 14.4 jobs
Bike boulevard — 11.7 jobs
Road repairs and upgrades — 7.4 jobs
Road resurfacing — 6.8 jobs
The authors explain that bike and pedestrian projects create more jobs because a greater proportion of money is spent on workers, instead of materials. Also, projects with more engineering costs have greater employment impacts.
Writing at the League of American Bicyclists blog, policy analyst Darren Flusche says:
“This new data is just the latest indication that investing in bicycling infrastructure is good for the economy.”
Build it and they will come
Other studies have found that rails-to-trails projects increases tourism spending in small communities along the route. One study even found that an Ohio bike trail even improved nearby property resales because of the added recreational bonuses.
Never let it be said that funding for bicycling projects is a waste of money.
Recent Comments