In Denver, They Get It: Bikes Are Good for Business

People see bicycles and bicycle infrastructure in a lot of different ways. In New York, for instance, some politicians and business owners seem to view bike lanes and the people who ride in them as somehow dangerous for small businesses.

This in spite of studies that have shown better bicycle facilities are likely to be good for business.

In Colorado, apparently, they get it. Today on the Streetsblog Network, we’re featuring a post from member blog Bike Denver about this month’s recipient of the “Bicycle Friendly Business” award:

Bike parking in downtown Denver. Photo by richardmasoner via Flickr.

September honoree Downtown Denver Business Improvement District
(BID) committed $50,000 to install new bike parking facilities
downtown, including 100 new bicycle “U” racks throughout the Central
Business District and Lower Downtown and the launch of a matching
grants awards program for property owners interested in installing new
bike parking facilities or expanding existing facilities.

“We
strongly encourage bicyclists to utilize this mode of transportation
throughout Downtown,” said Tami Door, President & CEO of the
Downtown Denver Partnership. “Our surveys show that roughly 6% of the
Downtown workforce consistently commutes by bicycle — and we are
confident this number can expand with the right infrastructure
investments.”

A recent article on the Village Voice
website by Mathew Katz highlighted a couple of New York businesses that
are actively seeking cyclists’ patronage by offering discounts. (We’re
not aware of any stateside brothels that are matching this Berlin brothel’s incentive, however.)

Do
you know of any businesses in your part of the world that are angling
for the cycling trade? Give them some credit in the comments.

Another favorable notice for Colorado from the network: Barry’s Bike Blog,
out of Louisville, Kentucky, contrasts media treatment of a Boulder
cyclist’s death with the way such crashes are covered in the Bluegrass
State.