Shoppers Support Bike Lanes on Bloor; Merchants Resist

A study by the Clean Air Partnership:

The dominant mode of transportation in the Bloor West Village is walking, followed by public transit. Only 1 in 5 of visitors surveyed reported driving to the neighbourhood and parking there. The visitor survey data indicate that the majority (58%) support changes to the street use allocation. Curiously, cycling is the least frequent mode of transportation in this neighbourhood, and yet nearly 75% of those visitors who preferred a change in street use allocation would prefer the addition of a bike lane.

Visitor survey respondents who reported that they usually drive, were found to visit less frequently and spend significantly less money per month in the neighbourhood than those who did not drive. Visitors who preferred changes in street use allocation spend significantly more in the neighbourhood than those who prefer no change.

In terms of merchant perceptions of the impacts of changes in street use allocation, 54% of merchants in Bloor West Village indicated that they would expect no change or an increase in their number of daily customers as a result of either a bike lane or widened sidewalks, even if half of the on-street parking were to be removed in order to accommodate the changes.

Read the full study here: Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business (PDF)

Photo via the BikingToronto Flickr Pool