Study: D.C. Bike-Share Cut Neighborhood Congestion 4 Percent

Bike-share provides a healthy, inexpensive transportation option and can help get places that would be hard to reach on transit alone. But does it reduce congestion?

Researchers with the environmental group Resources from the Future concluded last year that local traffic decreased 2-3 percent on streets near Washington's Capital Bikeshare stations [PDF], but that congestion increased on streets farther away from stations.

Now the researchers have revised their findings, and the results suggest a more consistent traffic-reduction impact [PDF], reports Wash Cycle. Where Capital Bikeshare is available, local congestion has declined about 4 percent, they say. That may not sound like a big number, but it can result in some pretty significant benefits. The authors write:

Wash Cycle notes that this understates the case:

What we're also reading this morning: Modern Cities explains the connection between Charlotte's 10-mile Lynx light rail -- which opened 10 years ago -- and the city's boom in walkable development. And the Transportist shares the result of a study finding that if transit stops are in areas with high pollution and traffic, the wait will seem longer.