More and more cities are improving the quality of their biking infrastructure. Some are doing it for public health reasons, others are doing it to decrease traffic congestion, some are doing it to help meet carbon reduction goals, and others are doing it for fiscal reasons. Whatever the motivation, the number of miles of bike lanes in America’s cities is increasing, and advocates point to the positive effects of a bike culture, such as a healthy lifestyle and cleaner air as obvious reasons to promote bicycling.
The video above makes all of these points in an effective way, and we hear from officials in New York, San Francisco and Portland who verify these positive effects. But one of the most interesting things said in the 4-minute video is how cheap improving bike infrastructure can be. Portland, widely considered to be the most bike-friendly city in America, made all of its improvements (17 years worth) for the price of one mile of freeway. We had to listen to the video twice to be sure we heard the gentleman correctly. That level of investment is within the reach of many cities and shows that improving bike infrastructure across the US is a real possibility.
Video produced by Street Films
Great video! Here is another one to back it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljcFPsNaj0I&feature=youtube_gdata_player