No, Bike Lanes Don't Hurt Retail Business, by Eric Jaffe (Atlantic Cities)
City retailers tend to overestimate the importance of parking to their business. They fail to see the many downsides of free parking (congestion and low shopper turnover, among them). They believe more people arrive at the store by car than actually do. They may not even realize that while driving customers spend more per visit, non-drivers spend as much or more in the long term.
And yet whenever a city considers installing a bike lane, rest assured some retailers will protest the perceived loss of automobile access.
New Albany is a state of mind … but whose? Since 2004, we’ve been observing the contemporary scene in this slowly awakening old river town. If it’s true that a pre-digital stopped clock is right twice a day, when will New Albany learn to tell time?
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Bike lanes and a perceived loss of retail access.
It isn't so much that this essay applies to the exact situation in New Albany. After all, we've been careful to place our bike lanes where they barely matter. Still, if for no other insight than the first paragraph, it's worth a read.
No comments:
Post a Comment