Long Beach, 'The Poor Stepchild To LA,' Shows Why Bicycles Are Good For Business

Photo by Joséphine Runneboom via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

While cities around the globe spearhead bicycle-friendly innovations, SoCal's own Long Beach is garnering much attention for its prosperous pedal projects.

Grist details a few of the city's accomplishments.

With help from state and federal grants and pressure from local cycling enthusiasts, the city government has installed 130 miles of bike trails, established protected bike lanes (that is, lanes separated from vehicular traffic by physical barriers) on major commuter thoroughfares, created bike boulevards that enable kids and parents to bike or walk safely to and from school, and installed 1,200 new bike racks.

One of Long Beach's most notable innovations, which officials say is the first in the country, is its efforts to establish bike-friendly shopping districts and show local merchants how biking can bolster clientele and vitality. April Economides, the principal of Green Octopus Consulting and the leader of the city's outreach to local businesses, explains why "the math is pretty simple." Economides says, "You can park 12 bikes in the amount of space it takes to park one car. And someone who shifts from owning a car to a bicycle tends to have more discretionary income, because, for a commuter, the typical cost of a bicycle is $300 a year, compared to $7,000 a year for a car."

Numerous other business owners have witnessed proof of how bicycling makes cents. Kerstin Kansteiner, owner of Berlin coffee shop in the East Village Arts Bike-Friendly Business District, says, "The bike racks outside our shop increase our visibility and bring us more customers. People on bikes stop at places they haven't visited before because they don't have to try to find parking."

Belmont Shore, a Long Beach neighborhood boasting upscale shops and eateries, transformed an entire right lane of traffic into a green sharrows lane that extends for one mile.

Long Beach officials acknowledge that the city becoming the most bike-friendly in America, surpassing Minneapolis and Portland, "is still more an aspiration than a reality," says Grist. Drivers, such as taxi drivers, frown upon the additions of bike lanes, complaining that they reduce parking spaces and traffic flow.

One of our favorite quotes from the story was one by Allan Crawford, bicycle coordinator in the city's Department of Public Works. "Long Beach has always been seen as the poor stepchild to L.A., but now we're recreating our image."

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By Lauren Lloyd in News on January 12, 2012 12:59 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

John

That "bike lane" in Belmont Shore is a joke. It's a car lane that no casual bike rider has ever used. It is a complete waste of money in its current form because there is no barrier between the bike and the passing cars to the left, cars behind, and parked cars to the right.

The financial argument made by the consultant definitely hurts the cause more than it helps. Not even in Europe do people replace cars with bikes. You always need both and arguing otherwise is what makes bike opponents not take any of your arguments seriously.

I like biking in long beach more than anywhere else in la because it is flat, has plenty to see, and it's not just a boring back and forth across the beach. The potential is there but the painted lane in Belmont Shore needs to be acknowledged as a failed experiment.