Protected Bike Lanes Increase Safety, Save Money And Protect The Planet, New Report Finds
From Forbes.com
By Tanya Mohn
“Bicycle lanes reduce GHG emissions as effectively as highways create them.”
Investing in networks of protected bicycle lanes has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower transport costs, prevent road fatalities, and improve the quality of life for people in cities around the globe.
Those are the highlights of a new study released last month that focuses on the benefits of cycling as a safe, affordable, accessible, low-carbon mode of transportation.
“Urban cycling is an often overlooked element of urban transport planning, but this report shows it can unlock climate, environmental, and health benefits,” Sheila Watson, deputy director of the FIA Foundation, said in a statement.
“Protected Bicycle Lanes Protect the Climate ” was developed by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy’s global Cycling Cities campaign and supported by the FIA Foundation.
“It is extraordinary to see that dollar-for-dollar, protected cycle lanes are not just carbon neutral but fully mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions created when the same amount of spending goes on highways,” Watson added. “The case for investment in cycling is not just good financial sense, it is essential for healthier, safer and more equitable cities.”
Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash
