Seeing Science: Cycle City

As is fitting for a university in a city renowned for its bike infrastructure, Portland State is a hub of world-class transportation research. Much of this is conducted at PSU’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC). TREC is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and works with sister centers at partner universities to conduct research that improves mobility and builds strong communities. Here’s what recent studies by TREC researchers have revealed about getting around by bike.

Bike lanes can be good for business

A TREC study of six cities—including Portland—found that adding bike lanes either improved or had nonsignificant impacts on sales and employment. The food service industry benefited the most. Even when parking had to be removed for bike lanes, food sales tended to go up.

Bikes don’t slow cars on shared streets

Bicyclists do not significantly reduce car speeds on low speed, low-volume city streets without bike lanes. This TREC study found speeds differed by only one mile per hour or less with and without cyclists.

Pandemic bike share use plummeted downtown

Ridership for Portland’s bike share system dropped 73% during the pandemic’s first six months. The biggest reduction was between downtown and other areas during normal commute and happy hour times. Outside of downtown, the number of trips remained similar to pre-COVID times.

E-bike incentives reduce emissions

Last year, TREC launched the Electric Vehicle Incentive Cost and Impact tool, which lets policymakers test how incentives for electric vehicles can reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Case studies found that in terms of cost and CO2 savings, incentives for e-bikes often beat those for electric cars.

Better data makes better policy

For transportation agencies, planners and advocates trying to understand how many people are biking and walking, TREC’s BikePed Portal offers a central standardized database of bicycle and pedestrian count data.