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And now, for something completely different:

I ride my bike to work, whenever possible – preferably 5 days/week. I can take the short route which is only about a mile, or I can take a longer route, which is closer to 4 miles, and more scenic. Either way, if I drive, the car barely gets warmed up, so it’s hardly worth it. I used to commute 10 miles each way, but since I moved, I don’t have to do that, but I enjoyed that route too. Occasionally, people ask me why I do this and they usually assume I have some larger motivation. Mainly, though, I do it because I enjoy it and I think its good for me, physically and mentally.

There is, however, a very strong case for promoting bike commuting as a mainstream transportation mode. I recently wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post on the benefits of cycling, and how they should be welcomed regardless of party affiliation. For more, you can check out this, this or this.

The gist is: The economic benefits of cycling — not just for cyclists, but for the community at large, are staggering. Lower health-care costs benefit all of us. Having fewer cars on the road, especially at peak hours, reduces the need for expensive new roads and parking lots, and it means fewer deaths and injuries from vehicle-related accidents. Bike infrastructure projects create jobs too – more than 11 jobs per million dollars vs. 8 jobs per million for highway projects.
A safe bike-commuting environment can help people get to work even if they don’t have a car or can’t drive for any reason.

In Richmond, some 18 percent of households can’t afford a car, and 60 percent of households share a single car among several adults. Bikes can help them get and keep jobs. Right now, biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips in the United States and cost about 2 percent of transportation dollars.

I’m not suggesting everyone can or should bike to work – it’s a matter of personal choice. But it seems to me that anyone who wants to should be able to do so in safety and without having to take elaborate detours or ride on sidewalks just to avoid becoming a traffic statistic.

When you consider how little of the transportation budget goes to meet the needs of this healthy and practical means of getting to work, fairness and common sense would seem to demand that we address the needs to cyclists in planning our streets and intersections, and accord the bicycle, one of the most elegant and efficient inventions ever devised by man, its rightful place on the roads, which we all pay for with our taxes, whether we drive, ride or walk.

How did you get to work today? Now, wouldn’t you feel better on a bike?

Tags: bicycling, economy, fitness, highways, transportation

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 2:12 pm and is filed under business, Cycling, economic benefits, highways, infrastructure, Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.