Cycling’s Greatest Challenge
Bicycling is an all encompassing activity. Part transportation; part relaxation; part exercise. But for many would-be cyclists, the lack of access to safe and convenient bike routes prevents many from using their bikes more often for commuting, family riding or recreational touring.
Challenge: Creating Safe Routes for Riding
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, 87 million Americans ride bicycles. Yet, for many of recreational cyclists, they have to put their bike on their car and drive it to a safe location to ride. Many commuters have to navigate broken shoulders on the sides of busy roads while cars speed by. The problem is that federal and state governments have spent the last two generations and hundreds of billions of dollars building transportation networks for cars, yet we rely heavily on the donations of individuals and organizations to build safe routes to bike. As a result, across the U.S., households take an average of 11 car trips per day, but only 20 percent are work related (Governor's Institute on Community Design). This is a lot of car trips that could be replaced by bicycle trips if safe and convenient routes were available.
Fortunately, organizations such as Bikes Belong and the Rail-to-Trails Conservancy are working hard to develop and protect riding routes. And these organizations have made tremendous contributions, with thousands of miles of safe bike routes to their credit. Federal funding has also contributed modestly to this effort. But efforts to date have not been nearly enough to keep pace with demand.
A Call for 'Complete Roads'
Too many of today's roadways are designed for automobiles only, rather than as 'complete roads' - roads intended to be shared with alternative transportation. This makes most roads unsafe for pedestrian traffic, and prevents even the best intentioned from commuting to work by bike or enjoying rides with family and friends.
Instead, in many places you have to drive your bike by car to find safe places to ride it. Regulation must be enacted to build 'complete roads'. Every road project should be evaluated for the possibility of adding a lane for cyclists and other modes of transportation. A 4-foot paved shoulder on each side of the road for a bike lane costs just $69,200 per mile, which is one quarter the cost of a paved sidewalk along the same route, and just a fraction of the estimated $23 million per mile to design, construct and maintain an urban highway.
A Call for More Bike Paths
Bike Paths are one of the best and most economical ways to create dedicated routes for pedestrian traffic. The cost for a 10-foot paved multi-use path is estimated at $100,000 per mile. For a town of 20,000 people, this is just $5 per person per mile. Imagine a scenic, family friendly 5-mile bike path through your town for just $25 per person. In return, property values go up and the community becomes more desirable. According to the bureau of Transportation Statistics, 79 million Americans think that bikeways, walking paths and sidewalks are very important in choosing where to live. In addition, property sale studies nationally have shown that properties near bike and walking trails sell from 9% to 11% more than similar homes in their area. What a return on investment!
In addition, building these pedestrian routes are environmentally low impact, since many of today's bike paths are built on abandoned rail lines or previously cleared walking paths. In turn, these trails offer miles and miles of quite, safe riding paths that often connect major urban centers or destinations, making recreational riding and commuting more accessible to more people. This is significant when you consider that according to the Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse, 46% of surveyed Americans would bike to work if designated trails were available.
Bike paths are also good investments for tourist and destination towns. According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT), a $6.7 million network of bike paths and lanes created in the Outer Banks region of the state provides an estimated $60 million in economic benefits to the area annually. In addition, 43% of tourists report bicycling as an important factor in selecting this area for vacation, while 53% of tourists report bicycling will have a strong influence in their decision to return for subsequent visit.
Closer to home, the lack of safe bike paths also affects our children. According to America Bikes, in just one generation, the percentage of children who walk or bike to school has dropped by 75%, while the number of overweight children has tripled. Unfortunately, studies show that many children who are overweight at a young age remain so throughout their life. Fortunately, some areas have found ways to successfully reversing this trend. In Marin County, CA, the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) program helped create safer routes for kids to ride or walk to school. The result: a 114% increase in the number of children bicycling to school (America Bikes).
In summary, if we as a nation want to get more people on bikes to improve our health and reduce emissions, we have to provide safe routes for riding to make cycling more accessible and inviting to more people.
