The Business Case for Bike Lanes

The city of Beaverton plans to reduce auto lanes and add bike lanes on a stretch of road in "Silicon Forest," John Maus reports at Bike Portland. What makes this particular bike project "a big deal," in Maus's words, is that it was requested by local merchants as a strategy to boost business.

In a city survey, owners of businesses on the street "overwhelmingly" supported building up bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, Maus reports. In fact, it became the "top priority" of the city's plan for the area employment district, West Five. The goal stressed in planning documents is to attract a younger demographic to the area, who will hopefully become the next generation workforce for the tech cluster and other major businesses nearby.