It's a virtuous cycle that may come as no surprise: build bike lanes, and watch health care costs drop. Recent research from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University shows just what a bargain bike lanes can be.
Jing Gu, Babak Mohit and Peter Alexander Muennig wanted to learn whether investing in bike lanes produced better (or worse) outcomes than investing in other health interventions, such as expanding health care services or injury prevention programs.
First, the researchers quantified "If you build it, they will come." The team calculated that the estimated 45.5 miles of new bicycle lanes (protected and otherwise) that New York City built in 2015, at a cost of $8.1 million, increased the probability the people would ride bikes by 9.2 percent. They estimate that the 9.2 percent increase in turn produced future health savings as a result of fewer injuries, better individual health due to increased physical activity, and improved air quality—which improved health for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
Read the rest of the story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment