New York’s current bicycle lane installation program
is receiving a significant amount of press. A post to the New Yorker blog by
economist writer John Cassidy provides the drivers’ perspective: ‘when the city
introduces a bike lane on a given street, it removes dozens of parking places’.
His concern is that that elimination of on street parking spaces results in
higher levels of congestion due to a greater number of drivers searching for
fewer spaces.
is receiving a significant amount of press. A post to the New Yorker blog by
economist writer John Cassidy provides the drivers’ perspective: ‘when the city
introduces a bike lane on a given street, it removes dozens of parking places’.
His concern is that that elimination of on street parking spaces results in
higher levels of congestion due to a greater number of drivers searching for
fewer spaces.
Economist Felix Salmon of Reuters, in reply, points
out the effect of the bike lanes on the number of riders: ‘Bike lanes attract
bikes no less effectively than roads attract cars and the number of cyclists in
New York has been growing just as fast as the city can create new lanes for
them.’
out the effect of the bike lanes on the number of riders: ‘Bike lanes attract
bikes no less effectively than roads attract cars and the number of cyclists in
New York has been growing just as fast as the city can create new lanes for
them.’
Whilst the debate between those in favour of the new
bike lanes and those against continues to gather significant press, Ryan Avent of The Economist, analyses the situation from an economic perspective:
bike lanes and those against continues to gather significant press, Ryan Avent of The Economist, analyses the situation from an economic perspective:
“Now, if drivers paid for all the costs they impose on
others, then it might be worth asking what the optimal level of bike lanes to
have is and discussing whether the lanes themselves are subject to rising
congestion and need to be priced. Of course, if drivers paid for all the costs
they impose on others, there would be fewer drivers complaining about bike
lanes and more people using them. As things stand, given that cyclists help
alleviate some of these externalities (a cyclist takes up dramatically less
road space than a car, doesn’t use on-street parking, does not emit ozone, and
does not contribute to climate change) it seems quite sensible to allocate a
larger share of New York’s roadways to lanes for cyclists. From an economic
perspective.”
others, then it might be worth asking what the optimal level of bike lanes to
have is and discussing whether the lanes themselves are subject to rising
congestion and need to be priced. Of course, if drivers paid for all the costs
they impose on others, there would be fewer drivers complaining about bike
lanes and more people using them. As things stand, given that cyclists help
alleviate some of these externalities (a cyclist takes up dramatically less
road space than a car, doesn’t use on-street parking, does not emit ozone, and
does not contribute to climate change) it seems quite sensible to allocate a
larger share of New York’s roadways to lanes for cyclists. From an economic
perspective.”
It may pay New York City to keep an eye on the
outcomes of the installation of the SFPark system in San Francisco and consider
whether a similar system can be installed to assist drivers find those elusive
on street parking spaces.
outcomes of the installation of the SFPark system in San Francisco and consider
whether a similar system can be installed to assist drivers find those elusive
on street parking spaces.
And where are our Australian Cities in all this?
via TreeHugger