18/08/2026
🚲 Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business.
Cycling infrastructure is often discussed as a mobility or environmental policy. But it is also urban economic infrastructure.
The Protected Bike Lanes Mean Business report by the League of American Bicyclists, PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking & Walking examines evidence from several U.S. cities and identifies important connections between protected cycling networks and urban economic performance. (League of American Bicyclists)
Protected bike lanes can:
🏪 Support local retail by bringing customers who tend to visit businesses frequently.
🏢 Increase the attractiveness of commercial areas and contribute to neighbourhood redevelopment.
🏠 Support property values by improving accessibility and the quality of the surrounding public realm.
👩💻 Help businesses attract and retain workers by providing comfortable alternatives to car commuting.
❤️ Generate health benefits by making everyday physical activity easier and more accessible.
🚗 Use scarce urban space more efficiently, allowing more people to move without requiring more road space or parking. (League of American Bicyclists)
The report is careful to note that protected bike lanes are not a magic solution. They require appropriate investment, planning and network-level design. (League of American Bicyclists)
From an IMM perspective, this is precisely the point: mobility infrastructure cannot be evaluated only by how quickly vehicles move.
A street is simultaneously a mobility corridor, an economic space, a social space and part of the urban environmental system.
When we redesign the street for people, we are not taking value away from the city—we may be creating new forms of value. 🌿🏙️🚲
Read more:https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/protectedbikelanesmeanbusiness.pdf
