Bicycle Lanes and Business Success: A San Francisco Examination

Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of bicycle infrastructure on business performance in San Francisco, CA. The purpose of the paper is to provide better information about the potential impacts of bicycle infrastructure on different types of business, thereby improving the planning process and providing more confidence in outcomes for stakeholders. The analysis uses secondary data on business employment and sales to measure the change over time in performance of businesses abutting a bicycle lane intervention, versus the performance of nearby but non-abutting businesses. The paper finds that bicycle lane interventions in San Francisco rarely produce profoundly negative outcomes, and that they are often associated with positive business performance outcomes. It also finds that different types of businesses experience bicycle lane interventions differently, with the implication being that transportation planners need to understand and carefully account for the mix of businesses in implementation sites.