Bike-Friendly Business Districts

One of the newest trends in sustainable transportation is biking, more specifically Bike-Friendly Business Districts (BFBD's.)  BFBD's are areas in a city, or an entire city if possible, that have extra lanes for biking only, more bike racks and places to park bikes as well as businesses that are bike friendly.  There are many reasons why biking is a good alternative to driving, but now the benefits are starting to reach to the business as well.

When consumers use bikes to get around they typically will stay closer to home because of biking distance limitations.  When this happens they support local businesses more, which is better for the economy.  they typically will shop more in fact because they see every store at a slower speed and are able to have a better understanding of what is available.

In an update report on transportationissuesdaily.com, the question was asked about how hard it is to create BFBD like the ones in the East Village of NYC.  For some places where many have been biking for years, BFBD's are easy, it is just about officially setting up more bike parking (and bike valet's in some places.)  Some areas have had a flat 10% discount for costumers who arrive on bike, which has actually been as effective as expected.  It seems this is because most people who will shop on bikes will do so with or without a discount and not many are willing, or able to come from other districts.

It seems to me that BFBD can be a positive addition of any business district, as long as there are enough residents close by who can ride and bike to and from the store and there are safe ways for those bicyclists to get to and from the stores without having to compete to much with busy traffic.


For more information on BFBD read the following links:

http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/whats-working-at-the-newest-bike-friendly-business-district/
http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/emerging-trend-bicycle-friendly-business-districts/
http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/nine-reasons-to-create-a-bicycle-friendly-business-district/

Cashless Tolls, Good or Bad

This past Thanksgiving weekend I was driving through New York, specifically the Yonkers and Bronx area, on my way home when all of a sudden with no warning there was a toll booth.  What made this toll booth odd was there were were NO cash options and we did not have an EZ pass on the car we were driving.  These cashless toll roads are becoming more popular around the country from major highways in Texas and Florida to California and New York.  In fact the new Scudders Falls Bridge, which spans the Delaware River for I-95, will soon be replaced with a cashless toll.  For those cars that do not have any EZ Pass system, like mine last weekend, a camera takes a picture of the license plate and a bill is sent home.  These are just part of the overall implementation of more technologies in transportation discussed in William R. Black's Sustainable Transportation chapter 21.

According to traffic planners working on projects like the Scudders Falls Bridge the new cashless tolls help reduce cost to run toll systems and speed up traffic. While this is true, there are some critics.  One of the biggest critics are tourists.  The big issue with tourists is that many will use a rented car and are unaware of the areas new tolling systems are will drive right through them.  The rental company then later gets the bill and will pass it on, sometimes with up to a $25 "administrative" fee.  One way that this is being combated is renting transponders that cashless toll systems use so that the renter can use the tolls and pay for them at the end of their trip.

I think that overall, while it may be a hassle to some people, in the long run this system will work.  Hopefully as more toll roads become cashless, more people will buy the transponders which is simple; EZ Pass only costs $10 per car with no other fees besides the tolls themselves.  Once a majority, or everyone with cars has transponders, then all toll booths can go cashless, saving money and speeding up traffic.

For more information please check out these two articles:

http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2012/08/13/yardley_news/news/doc50285b6909974643223619.txt?viewmode=fullstory

http://www.elliott.org/the-navigator/cashless-toll-roads-another-hazard-for-car-renters/


What do you think?