News
Ped/Bike Infrastructure Projects Create Jobs
June 28, 2011
A national study finds that labor-intensive bike/ped projects create 46% more jobs per dollar invested than road-only projects. The study released this month by the University of Massachusetts – Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) finds that pedestrian infrastructure projects — bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, etc. — create on average nine jobs inside the state where the project is being conducted and three jobs out of state, per $1 million spent.
Press Release from
Contact: Caron Whitaker, America Bikes, 202-215-3908, caron@americabikes.org
Researcher: Heidi Garrett-Peltier, PERI, 413-577-0818, hpeltier@econs.umass.edu
Want Infrastructure Jobs? Build More Bike Lanes
Washington, D.C. (June 18, 2011) – Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create more jobs per dollar spent than other road construction projects, according to a new study, Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure: A National Study of Employment Impacts, conducted and released this month by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The report builds on an earlier PERI case study of Baltimore, Md. and is the first national study to compare job creation of bicycling and walking infrastructure with other roadway construction projects. Using actual bid price and cost data, the study compares 58 projects in 11 cities and finds that bike projects create 46 percent more jobs than road projects without bike or pedestrian components.
On average, the “road-only” projects evaluated created 7.8 jobs per million, while the “bicycling-only” projects provided 11.4 jobs per million. For example, a roadway-focused project with no bicycle or pedestrian components in Santa Cruz, Calif. generated 4.94 jobs per $1 million spent. In contrast, a bicycle-focused project in Baltimore produced 14.35 jobs per million. The PERI reviewers attribute the difference to the simple fact that bicycle and pedestrian projects are often more labor intensive.
“It’s no secret that investing in transportation infrastructure creates jobs and helps the economy,” said Caron Whitaker, Campaign Director at America Bikes. “This study proves bicycle and pedestrian projects are no exception — in fact, they are especially efficient in creating jobs.”
America Bikes will hold a tele-briefing, today Monday, June 20, 2011, at 4 p.m. EDT to discuss the report. Call in number 888-612-1053. On the call will be Dr. Heidi Garrett-Peltier, the author of the report as well as Mayor Pat Hays of North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. Read the Report at http://www.peri.umass.edu .
The study arrives as Congress is writing a six-year Surface Transportation bill, and struggling to continue robust reinvestment in infrastructure while moderating federal spending. Funding for bicycling and walking is part of that debate.
“This report adds to a wealth of studies demonstrating the many economic benefits of investing in bicycle and pedestrian projects and programs,” said Clarke.
America Bikes is a coalition of leaders from the bicycle community advocating for positive outcomes for bicycling in the federal transportation bill.
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