Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Economic Benefits of Adding Bike Lanes to Cities

In the article titled, "Bike Lanes May Benefit Small Businesses," NBC news contributor Tanya Mohn brings up the positive consequence of cities adding bike lanes to their streets. Although great effort would have to be put forth to add them, the benefits could prove to be worth it in the long run.

Tanya begins the article by giving insight about small businesses in America gaining more business from bikers. When people commute by bikes rather than cars, they tend to visit local venues, and spend more money on average than car drivers.
I agree with the author when she writes,"In addition to the substantial health benefits resulting from the cardiovascular exercise of cycling, “biking can save individuals up to three months worth of salary,” that is used to buy, insure, drive, park, repair, and maintain a car. “It’s a tremendous cost for the average American, about $10,000 a year per car," said Pucher, who is co-author of “City Cycling,” published earlier this year by The MIT Press." When I am out biking, I know how much money I am saving by not paying for gas, and the rare times I have to maintain my bike it typically costs under twenty dollars, making it significantly cheaper than automobiles.

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