Here’s a study we like: dollar for dollar, building bike infrastructure creates more jobs than road works.
The findings, publicized by the League of American Bicyclists and quickly making its way around the blogosphere, examined the costs of engineering, construction, and materials for different projects in Baltimore and found that bike lanes create about twice as many jobs as road construction for the same amount of money. (Pedestrian infrastructure also tops roads.) Some of it has to do with the need for labor compared to materials. You can read the entire study here.
For those who say roads are paid for with gas taxes and tolls, well, no, they’re not. Not by a long shot, as this analysis points out.
High Point to Cape May Bike Route
As the LAB points out, it’s one more way bicycle infrastructure is good for the economy. An LAB study notes that bicycle industry and bicycle tourism can boost local employment levels and economic activity. West Windsor is fortunate to be located along the East Coast Greenway, with hotels and other businesses that are accessible from the route, and just off the state’s mapped route from High Point to Cape May (Note: this file is more than 50 MB; be patient while it downloads–the guide is worth it).
For more routes, see the NJDOT’s Biking in New Jersey Tours.
Tags: bike lanes, East Coast Greenway, League of American Bicyclists