At the start of the summer, as we were coming out of our first lockdown and governments were looking for economic stimulus programs, Vélo Canada Bikes researched the return-on-investment for different types of infrastructure, include active transportation infrastructure.
From a purely economic point of view, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, by far, gives the greatest dollar return on investment. That return is $11.80 ROI for each dollar spent. The lowest return is for road construction, with $1.30 being returned for each dollar spent.
Now, 6 months later, and in another lockdown, municipalities and governments across Canada are in the process of planning their budgets for 2021. Clearly, we continue to need economic stimulus. And clearly, we continue to need to provide opportunities for people to get out of their homes and experience their communities safely.
Over the summer, we saw the incredible bloom of open streets across the country and the response was overwhelming. People were out experiencing their communities and neighbourhoods as never before. As we hunker down for the winter we cannot forget that experience and we must plan for it to continue not just for the duration of the pandemic but going forward.
From a pure dollars and cents perspective, investing in active transportation infrastructure is the wisest way to go. From a community building perspective, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure connects people in ways that other infrastructure can’t. From a climate change perspective, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is the way of the future.
