Thank you to everyone who joined us on Peachtree Street on August 19th as part of Atlanta Bicycle Coalition's Business and Bikes!
We are pleased to report that 79 people spent a total of $1,770 at local businesses along Peachtree Street between 6th Street & 10th Street.
The goal of the event was to advocate for bike lanes on Peachtree Street by showing local businesses that their customers - new and returning - support bike lanes as well.
We have been advocating for protected bike lanes on Peachtree Street, and while we're making great progress, some business owners are concerned that a reduction in on-street parking to accommodate bike lanes would deter customers. We wanted to show them quite the opposite!
Business and Bikes also highlights the positive impact that people who bike have on the local economy and the need for quality infrastructure like protected bike lanes and bike racks. A growing body of research shows that people on bikes visit more often and spend more money overall per month than people who drive (1).
As the average young person is driving less and biking and taking transit more (3), it's increasingly important that business owners recognize that their customers also arrive by bicycle. This mean that businesses need to support bike infrastructure and bike parking. After all, 10 customers who arrive by bike fit in the parking space of one customer who arrives by car (2).
Thank you again to photographer Heather Troutman for capturing the event. Please see all the photos at ABC Business + Bikes Photos.
Business and Bikes is a new recurring event that will encourage people on bikes to support local businesses and highlight the positive effect people on bikes have on a local economy. Stay tuned for future events!
If you would like to receive updates about the Peachtree Street Campaign, please sign up here at atlantabike.org/peachtree-street.
(1) SOURCE:Kelly J. Clifton, Sara Morrissey, and Chloe Ritter, “Business Cycles: Catering to the Bicycling Market,” TR News 280, 2012: 26-32. http://bit.ly/16WKfe3; T Fleming, S Turner, and L Tarjomi, “Reallocation of road space,” NZ Transport Agency research report 530,2013. http://bit.ly/167iGlQ; Clean Air Partnership, “Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto’s Annex Neighbourhood,” 2009. http://bit.ly/18hToAY
(2) (3) SOURCE: Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG, “Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People are Driving Less and What It Means for Transportation Policy,” 2013. http://bit.ly/GTP561 Data from National Household Travel Survey 2001 and 2009. Figure for biking is in total trips; figure for transit and car is in person-miles traveled.