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‘Clear link between bike share, cycle lanes and improved safety’

Deniz Huseyin
27 July 2016

 

There is a clear correlation between the growth of protected cycle lanes, bike share schemes and improved safety for cyclists, according to a new study of seven cities in the USA by NACTO. 

The study - Equitable Bike Share Means Building Better Places for People to Ride - analysed cycling-related data in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Portland and Washington DC.

NACTO (the National Association of City Transportation Officials) - a coalition of city transportation departments in 46 large cities - found that bike share schemes make streets safer for everyone on a bike.

“Municipal policies that increase cycling, like implementing a large-scale bike share system, when combined with significant enhancements to bike infrastructure, are associated with large decreases in the risk of injury or death borne by each person cycling,” says the report.

“Appropriately scaled bike share systems can dramatically increase the total number of people on bikes in a city and help build political momentum for bike lanes.”

In five of the seven cities surveyed, the number of cyclists killed or severely injured fell between 2007 to 2014, even as bike ridership rates increased, says NACTO.

Even in the cities where the absolute number of cyclists killed or severely injured increased over the time period, the “rise was at a slower pace than the increase in cycling itself”.

“Studies from cities across North America show that adding protected bike lanes significantly increases bike ridership on those streets, with rates ranging from 21% to 171%,” says NACTO. The majority of the US public is interested in biking but concerned about safety.

“Their willingness to ride is highly influenced by the quality of bike lanes available to them. Matching convenient bike share systems with a protected bike lane network is a recipe for success.”

Improved bike safety appears to most benefit those on low incomes or from ethnic minorities, the reports notes.

“49% of the people who bike to work earn less than $25,000 per year, and Black and Hispanic bicyclists have a fatality rate 30% and 23% higher than white bicyclists, respectively. Building extensive protected bike lane networks benefits those who are most at risk.”

“NACTO cities are leading the way on safety and this new analysis makes it clear why,” said Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and NACTO President.

“Each new facility we put down multiplies our investment in our city streets. High-quality bike lanes attract riders and are essential to increased safety for everyone.”

Equitable Bike Share Means Building Better Places for People to Ride

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