Why Stamford Businesses Need to Fight for Bike Lanes

by: Mike Norris

My motivation last fall to build a cargo bike - a long bicycle designed to carry heavy loads - was so I could buy toilet paper in bulk. 

Let me back up a second. 

There are a lot of errands one has to run which involve buying things, and if you use a bike, there are often limits to what you can safely move from a store to home. I've been known to study loaves of bread at bakeries to evaluate which ones will fit in my panniers bag or trunk boxes, and even though I've long confirmed that anyone can buy eggs with a bicycle and bring them all home unbroken, a big shopping trip - the kind where you need a spotter to carry everything inside - is usually just best done with a car. 

Having successfully carried a cut 4 x 8 sheet of plywood six miles with my cargo bike, I write the word 'usually' with great reluctance. 

Now if you are a store owner, what I just said means something to you. You want people to push big shopping trolleys about your place of business and fill them to the top. You may assume that people who ride bikes are going to spend less since they can't fit a lot of goods in their backpacks or on their bikes. 

A study of travelers in Portland, Oregon - published by PeopleForBikes and the Alliance for Biking and Walking - shows that cyclists do, in fact, spend less per trip than someone in a car:  a car driver spent an average of $13.70 for a trip and cyclists spent a mere $10.66.

But there's an important twist: the cyclists make more trips than the motorists and spend, according to the study, 24% more per month: $75.66 was the monthly average for cyclists compared to $61.03 for motorists. 

When you recall the last time you traveled on High Ridge Road in the middle of the day or during rush hour, you'll realize just how much that makes sense. Automotive traffic is annoying, and I believe that each time a driver has to watch a traffic light turn from red to green and back again while they move just a couple of feet in the interim they think to themselves: this is why I'm doing all of my Christmas shopping online next year. 

If you own a store in Stamford, that's not what you want to hear. Even though Keogh's hardware store, HobbyTown USA, and Fratelli Market are up there, I usually avoid driving and biking in that area because the traffic is a time vampire. 

That means I spend money somewhere else. 

The reason I'm bringing all of this up is that there is an effort underway to make High Ridge Road and Long Ridge Road friendlier to all kinds of travelers - not just cars. Details on the study can be found at the following link:

http://www.vhb.com/LRHRStudy/default.asp

There is also a stakeholders meeting on January 21st at 7:00pm in the cafeteria of the Government Center on 888 Washington Boulevard. If you want to speak up about what you want to see on those roads - or if you just want to listen - please attend. 

Now I don't expect bike lanes to ignite broad demand cargo-transporting bikes along those roads, but I do know businesses should see some financial benefit right away - in addition to seeing me up there with my cargo bike more often. 

Save me a case of toilet paper. 

Mike Norris is the founder of DIYBIKING.COM, a site dedicated to casual cycling, random builds, and bike travel. He is a member of the Connecticut Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Board and owns one 3,300 lb. SUV and 10 1/16 bicycles. He lives and works in Stamford and can be reached at connecticutmike@gmail.com