This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.
Since we’ve been having a heated public debate on bicycles in the urban environment, it seems worthwhile linking to this study, showing that the more bicyclists you have on the streets, the safer bicycling becomes for everyone. It’s a “virtuous cycle,” much like London’s congestion pricing: fewer cars on the road leads to better bus service, which leads to fewer cars on the road, etc., etc.
This also reminds me of a recent Ezra Klein post comparing bicycle ridership and accident rates in the US vs. several European countries. The trend is obvious, hardly anyone cycles in the US, and yet our accident rates are astronomical:
This is where government policy can really help. By doing things like dedicating more street real estate to exlusive bicycle right-of-way, we can jolt the virtuous cycle into action.
To be sure, all the policy in the world isn’t going to change the fact that a 65-year-old on a one-speed cruiser can navigate the flat streets of Amsterdam and Copenhagen relatively easily, whereas it takes a fair bit of physical strength and a relatively sophisticated bike to make it up and over, say, Queen Anne Hill. But improvements on the margins can still have a farily substantial impact.
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