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Bicycling means business.

From revitalizing a disinvested avenue in Memphis to pumping money into the economies of small towns along the Great Allegheny Passage, bicycling is breathing economic life into America’s communities. From quantifiable health benefits in Iowa to health insurance cost savings for Bicycle Friendly Business Quality Bicycle Products in Wisconsin, bicycling is boosting America’s economic health. From Portland, where the city built its entire bicycling network for the cost of one mile of urban freeway, to Baltimore, where bicycling projects create twice as many construction jobs per dollar as road projects, cities are discovering that bicycling investments are a cost-effective way to build infrastructure and create jobs.

These benefits add up. Every year new studies demonstrate the economic impacts of bicycling – recent examples include Iowa, Minneapolis, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

The new Advocacy Advance report “Bicycle Means Business: The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrasture” - updated from the 2009 report - highlights the impact the bicycle industry and bicycle tourism can have on state and local economies, discusses the cost effectiveness of investments, points out the benefits of bike facilities for business districts and neighborhoods, and identifies the cost savings associated with a mode shift from car to bicycle. The evidence demonstrates that investments in bicycling infrastructure make good economic sense as a cost-effective way to enhance shopping districts and communities, generate tourism and support business.

Download the report and contact Darren Flusche, Policy Director for the League of American Bicyclists, if you have any questions.