Why Bikes (and Bicyclists) are good for Business

Living and working in Albuquerque, it’s easy to think driving is a necessary part of everyday life, necessary to get to work and to the places we relax and play. And so parking also becomes an everyday consideration.

But what if we made some small changes? What about bicycles as transportation? We’ve got the weather to allow it year-round, we’ve got lots of economics incentives, and we’ve got the know-how to make it safe. What we don’t have is readily available secure parking. On the stretch of commercially zoned San Pedro Drive between Central and I40 there’s a not-so-grand total of FOUR bike racks. Not surprising then that the dedicated bike lanes on our street are under-used by the patrons and workers of our varied small businesses!

At Revitalize San Pedro Partnership (RSPP) we are working to change this.

We’ve been awarded a sizable grant from AARP to buy and install bike racks along our San Pedro corridor. It’s one more element of our ongoing plan to make our street more attractive and more prosperous for the people and businesses here.

Why do bike racks matter?

Well, bicyclists make a lot more unplanned stops than vehicle drivers. Even the rare driver keeping to San Pedro’s speed limit is long past your business by the time it registers in their mind or perhaps they don’t even see it’s there! You can’t sell your products and services to people speeding by in cars. Nor can you hope a bicyclist will stop if there’s nowhere to lock up their bicycle.

Does bicyclists' business matter?

Yes. Studies done in cities across the nation all verify this. Pedestrians and bicyclists, the combined cohort known as “active transportation users,” spend more in local businesses than car drivers. After all, they aren’t spending as much on gas and insurance as car drivers. On San Pedro, we already have the bike lanes, and RSPP (with Main Street USA?) is beginning construction on sidewalk improvements soon. Now all we need are places for riders to lock their bikes securely!

Who knows? You and your workers may even find yourselves riding a bike to work soon with all the health and budgetary benefits that accrue to that. Exercise in the outdoors is not only good for our bodies, but for our souls.

Let RSPP know if you’d like learn more by filling out our very short form. It’s also on our website under the “For Businesses” tab, along with lots of links to solid information on how bicycles improve local businesses.

Let’s build San Pedro into something we are all proud to be part of.