Biking is $ensible

Steve Miller of Livable Streets has gathered some remarkable data, all of which says: Biking makes economic sense.

Some highlights:

According to one study (based on 2006 gas prices and a 10 mile round trip commute), a person who bikes to work for a year will save $1,825 in auto-related costs, reduce carbon emissions by 128 pounds, conserve 145 gallons of gasoline, avoid 5 hours of gridlock traffic, burn 90,000 calories, reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke by 50%, and enjoy 14% less claims on their health insurance.

...it doesn’t take much to attract more riders – a US study found that each additional mile of bicycle lane is associated with an approximate one-percent increase in the share of bike-to-work trips.

Subsidies for drivers amount to up to $3,000 per driver per year.

Not even including the cost of the land, it costs up to $5,000 to build a flat-surface paved parking spot and up to $50,000 for a single space in a decked garage.