Economic benefits

• On Salt Lake City's Broadway, replacing parking with protected bike lanes increased retail sales. A general street upgrade removed 30 percent of the auto parking from nine blocks of the major commercial street but improved crosswalks, sidewalks and added protected bike lanes. In the first six months of the next year, retail sales were up 8.8 percent over the first six months of the prior year, compared to a 7 percent increase citywide. After the changes, 59% of business owners on the street said they supported them; only 18% opposed. Salt Lake City Department of Transportation  - Salt Lake City Department of Transportation
• The value of properties within one block of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail increased 148 percent after construction — more than doubling in value from 2008 to 2015. The $63 million public and private investment helped create $1 billion in additional assessed property value. Indiana University Public Policy Institute  - Assessment of the Impact of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail
• By shifting traffic from cars to bikes and making it easier to reach transit stops, Austin's planned protected bike lane network is projected to increase the city's traffic capacity by about 25,000 trips per day at about the same cost ratio as a single expressway widening. Wilkes, Nathan.  - City of Austin 2014 Bike Plan Update. Slide 47.
• Making biking comfortable, safe and dignified has made car ownership optional for low-income Denmark residents. Only 41 percent of trips by Denmark's poorest residents happen in cars, compared to 72 percent by the poorest Americans. Transportvaneunders›gelsen, DTU Transport. 2011. National Household Travel Survey, 2009.  - How protected bike lanes helped Denmark win its war on inequality
• One mile of roadway planned through Golden Gate Park is 1,283 times more expensive to San Franciscans than one mile of protected bike lane. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition  - No, protected bike lanes are probably not too expensive for your city to build
• A redesign of NYC's Union Square to include a protected bike lane resulted in 49% fewer commercial vacancies, compared to 5% more throughout Manhattan. NYC DOT, 2012  - Measuring the Street
• Customers who arrive at retail stores by bike spend the same amount per month as comparable people who arrive by car - they tend to make smaller purchases but return more frequently. Studies in Toronto; New Zealand; Wales; Davis, California; and Portland, Oregon, all found this to be the case. Clifton, K., et al., 2012  - Consumer Behavior and Travel Mode Choices
• Protected bike lanes can be part of street redesigns that greatly boost retail performance. After the construction of a protected bike lane on 9th Avenue, local businesses saw a 49 percent increase in retail sales. On other streets in the borough, the average was only 3 percent. NYC DOT, 2012  - Measuring the Street
• After New York City installed a protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue, bicycling increased 56 percent on weekdays, crashes decreased 34 percent, speeding decreased, sidewalk riding decreased, traffic flow remained similar, and commercial loading hours/space increased 475 percent. New York City Department of Transportation, 2011  - Columbus Avenue parking-protected bicycle path preliminary assessment

Good for everyone

• Because they shorten crossing distances, control turning conflicts and reduce traffic weaving, New York City's protected bike lanes reduced injury rates for people walking on their streets by 12 to 52 percent. NYCDOT, 2013  - It turns out that protected bike lanes are fantastic for walking safety, too
• Where protected lanes were installed in New York and Washington D.C., the number of bikes on sidewalks immediately fell by an average of 56 percent. NYCDOT and DDOT, 2010-2014  - Tired of Cyclists Riding on the Sidewalk? Build More Bike Lanes
• When Chicago added a protected lane and bike-specific traffic signals to Dearborn Street, stoplight compliance on bicycles immediately rose from 31 percent to 81 percent. Chicago Department of Transportation, 2013  - City says Dearborn bike signals keeping cyclists in line
• Whether or not they ride bikes themselves, 79 to 97 percent of drivers say they feel moderately or very comfortable driving near bikes with a protected bike lane. Only half of drivers are comfortable on roads without bike infrastructure. R. Sanders, 2013  - R. Sanders, 2013
• Eighty-three percent of surveyed residents around the 15th Street protected bike lane in Washington, D.C. say the lane is a valuable neighborhood asset. District Department of Transportation, 2012  - District Department of Transportation Bicycle Facility Evaluation
• After Chicago's Kinzie Street protected bike lane was installed, a travel time study found little to no effect on automobile traffic: - Eastbound morning rush hour travel time from Milwaukee Avenue to Wells Street increased by less than one minute. - Westbound morning rush hour travel times from Wells Street to Milwaukee Avenue slightly improved. - Evening rush hour travel time in both directions slightly improved. Chicago DOT, 2011  - Initial Findings: Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane
• Forty-nine percent of survey respondents felt people's driving behavior improved on Kinzie Street after a protected bike lane was installed. Chicago DOT, 2011  - Initial Findings: Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane
• New York City's protected bike lane on 9th Avenue led to a 56 percent reduction in injuries to all street users, including a 57 percent reduction in injuries to people on bikes and a 29 percent reduction in injuries to people walking, as well as an 84 percent reduction in sidewalk riding. NYC DOT, 2012  - Measuring the Street
• When protected bike lanes are installed in New York City, injury crashes for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists) typically drop by 40 percent and by more than 50 percent in some locations. Wolfson, H., 2011  - Memorandum on Bike Lanes, City of New York, Office of the Mayor, 21 March 2011
• After New York City installed a protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue, bicycling increased 56 percent on weekdays, crashes decreased 34 percent, speeding decreased, sidewalk riding decreased, traffic flow remained similar, and commercial loading hours/space increased 475 percent. New York City Department of Transportation, 2011  - Columbus Avenue parking-protected bicycle path preliminary assessment

If you build it, people will ride

• In 2007, the city of Seville, Spain, rapidly connected a network of protected bike lanes. They grew the bike network from 7.5 miles of protected bike lanes in 2006 to 94 miles in 2013. During the same time period the number of bike trips grew 435 percent from 3 million in 2006 to more than 16 million in 2013. At the same time, the risk of being involved in a crash with a motor vehicle dropped 61 percent. R. Marqués and V. Hernández-Herrador  - On the effect of networks of cycle-tracks on the risk of cycling: The case of Seville
• 38 percent of people biking on Sherbourne Street in Toronto switched to biking for that trip after Sherbourne got a protected bike lane. Of those, 24 percent switched from driving. People taking longer trips and people over age 40 were more likely to make a car-to-bike switch. Raymond Ziemba, Raktim Mitra, Paul M. Hess  - Mode Substitution Effect of Urban Cycle Tracks: Case Study of a Downtown Street in Toronto, Canada
• On Washington DC's first protected bike lanes, bike traffic has been growing seven times faster than the citywide rate. District Department of Transportation, 2009-2013  - How high can they go? DC bike counts show continuing surge in protected lane use
• In Seville, an 80-mile network of protected bike lanes boosted biking from 0.6 percent to 7 percent of trips in six years. London Cycling Campaign, 2012  - Cycling increased tenfold in Seville after construction of miles of bike tracks.
• In Hangzhou, China, where 84 percent of main and secondary roads separate bikes from cars, 44 percent of middle school parents who own cars (and 62 percent of those who don't) ride a bike at least once a week. Lusk et al, 2014  - Gender and used/preferred differences of bicycle routes, parking, intersection signals, and bicycle type: Professional middle class preferences in Hangzhou, China." Journal of Transport & Health.
• In the two U.S. cities that first started building modern protected bike lanes, New York and Washington D.C., bike commuting doubled from 2008 to 2013. US Census  - NYC and DC, protected lane pioneers, just doubled biking rates in 4 years
• The average protected bike lane sees bike counts increase 75 percent in its first year alone. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• Intersections in Montreal with protected bike lanes saw 61 percent more bike traffic than comparable intersections with no bike infrastructure. The Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2013  - Spatial modeling of bicycling activity at signalized intersections
• On D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue protected bike lane, bicycle volumes increased 200 percent after the facilities were installed. District Department of Transportation, 2012  - District Department of Transportation Bicycle Facility Evaluation
• NYC's Prospect Park West protected bike lane saw a 190 percent increase in weekday ridership. NYC DOT, 2012  - Prospect Park West: Traffic Calming & Bicycle Path
• After a protected bike lane was installed on Chicago's Kinzie Street: Bicycle ridership on increased 55 percent, according to morning rush hour counts; Forty-one percent of respondents changed their usual route to take advantage of the new lane; Bicyclists accounted for a majority of all eastbound traffic (53 percent) and more than one third (34 percent) of total street traffic during a CDOT traffic count conducted during morning rush hour in August 2011. Chicago DOT, 2011  - Initial Findings: Kinzie Street Protected Bike Lane
• After buffered bike lanes were installed on Philadelphia's Spruce and Pine streets, bike traffic increased 95 percent and the number of people biking on the sidewalks fell 22 percent. Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, 2009  - Bicycle usage up 95% on Spruce and Pine bike lanes
• From 2006-2011, bicycling in San Francisco increased 71 percent. From 2010-2011, it increased 7 percent, making up 3.5 percent of all trips in the city. The greatest growth in bicycling came on Market Street, which has protected bike lanes. On Market Street, bicycling increased 115 percent from 2006, and 43 percent from 2010. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, 2012  - 2011 Bicycle Count Report
• After New York City installed a protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue, bicycling increased 56 percent on weekdays, crashes decreased 34 percent, speeding decreased, sidewalk riding decreased, traffic flow remained similar, and commercial loading hours/space increased 475 percent. New York City Department of Transportation, 2011  - Columbus Avenue parking-protected bicycle path preliminary assessment

Safety benefits

• In 2021, the City of Philadelphia saw a 96% increase in the number of bikes counted where parking separated bike lanes (PSBLs) had been installed. Kittleson & Associates, 2021 - Philadelphia Parking Separated Bike Lane Study.
• 96 percent of people using protected bike lanes believe they increased safety on the street. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• 80 percent of people who live near a protected bike lane project believe it increased safety on the street. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• Ninety percent of users say they feel safer bicycling on Pennsylvania Ave because of the new protected lanes. District Department of Transportation, 2012  - District Department of Transportation Bicycle Facility Evaluation
• New York City's protected bike lane on 9th Avenue led to a 56 percent reduction in injuries to all street users, including a 57 percent reduction in injuries to people on bikes and a 29 percent reduction in injuries to people walking, as well as an 84 percent reduction in sidewalk riding. NYC DOT, 2012  - Measuring the Street
• Streets with protected bike lanes saw 90 percent fewer injuries per mile than those with no bike infrastructure. Teschke, K., et al., 2012  - Route Infrastructure and the Risk of Injuries to Bicyclists: A Case-Crossover Study
• Streets with protected bike lanes saw 28 percent fewer injuries per mile than comparable streets with no bike infrastructure. People were also 2.5 times more likely to bike on the protected lanes than in general travel lanes. Lusk, A., et al., 2010  - Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street, Injury Prevention, December 1, 2010
• When protected bike lanes are installed in New York City, injury crashes for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists) typically drop by 40 percent and by more than 50 percent in some locations. Wolfson, H., 2011  - Memorandum on Bike Lanes, City of New York, Office of the Mayor, 21 March 2011
• After New York City installed a protected bike lane on Columbus Avenue, bicycling increased 56 percent on weekdays, crashes decreased 34 percent, speeding decreased, sidewalk riding decreased, traffic flow remained similar, and commercial loading hours/space increased 475 percent. New York City Department of Transportation, 2011  - Columbus Avenue parking-protected bicycle path preliminary assessment
• 75 percent of Portland and San Francisco residents who own bikes but ride infrequently are very" or "extremely" concerned about safety while riding. North research agency, 2013  - Selling Biking: A new report on the swing voters of the street
• Protected bike lanes reduce bike-related intersection injuries by about 75 percent compared to comparable crossings without infrastructure.
  Harris et al, 2013  - Comparing the effects of infrastructure on bicycling injury at intersections and non-intersections using a case?crossover design. Injury Prevention
• Because they shorten crossing distances, control turning conflicts and reduce traffic weaving, New York City's protected bike lanes reduced injury rates for people walking on their streets by 12 to 52 percent. NYCDOT, 2013  - It turns out that protected bike lanes are fantastic for walking safety, too
• Where protected lanes were installed in New York and Washington D.C., the number of bikes on sidewalks immediately fell by an average of 56 percent. NYCDOT and DDOT, 2010-2014  - Tired of Cyclists Riding on the Sidewalk? Build More Bike Lanes
• When Chicago added a protected lane and bike-specific traffic signals to Dearborn Street, stoplight compliance on bicycles immediately rose from 31 percent to 81 percent. Chicago Department of Transportation, 2013  - City says Dearborn bike signals keeping cyclists in line

What people want

• Protected bike lanes are seven times more effective than painted ones. A 2015 survey of adults in the 50 largest U.S. metro areas found that adding a conventional painted bike lane to a four-lane commercial street increases the number of people who feel very comfortable" biking there from 9 percent to 12 percent. Adding a protected bike lane boosts this to 29 percent. The reported comfort difference between a protected and conventional bike lane is about the same as the difference between a protected bike lane and an off-street path. Jennifer Dill, TREC at Portland State University  - National Association of Realtors national survey
• 47 percent of people ages 18-35 in Indianapolis, Nashville and Tampa strongly agree that they would like to live in a place where I don't need to rely on a car. 30 percent somewhat agree. 9 percent strongly disagree. Rockefeller Foundation, 2014  - Rockefeller Millennials Survey
• 75 percent of people who live near a protected bike lane project say they support more in other locations. For those aged 18-34, it's 85 percent; for those aged 18-24, 97 percent. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• 10 percent of people who live near a protected bike lane project give a perfect comfort rating to a conventional painted bike lane. 22 percent give a perfect rating to a bike lane buffered by paint. 70 give a perfect comfort rating to a bike lane protected by planters. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• 62 percent of people who live near protected lane projects would be more likely to ride a bicycle if motor vehicles and bicycles were physically separated by a barrier. Monsere, C., et al., 2014  - Lessons from the Green Lanes (National Institute for Transportation and Communities)
• By summer 2014, protected lane projects were on the ground in 53 U.S. cities and 24 states. By the end of the year the country had more than 200, quadruple the number in 2010. Green Lane Project, 2014  - Inventory of Protected Green Lanes
• Nearly 3 in 4 residents surveyed near Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Ave. protected bike lane support the lanes and believe them to be a valuable asset to the neighborhood. District Department of Transportation, 2012  - District Department of Transportation Bicycle Facility Evaluation
• A survey of Toronto residents found that 72 percent support protected bike lanes. Rider, D., 2011  - 65% of Torontonians say no to road tolls; 72% want bike lanes, Thestar.com, 3 June 2011
• A survey of Portland, Oregon, protected bike lane users found that 70 percent of respondents thought the lane made cycling safer and easier. Motorists generally thought it didn't make driving any less convenient or slower. Only three percent of cyclists didn't use the protected lane, compared to before it was installed, when 12 percent of riders rode in the street instead of in the bike lane. Monsere, C., et al., 2011  - Evaluation of Innovative Bicycle Facilities: SW Broadway Cycle Track & SW Stark/Oak Street Buffered Bike Lanes