Streets Built For Bikes and Pedestrians Also Yield More Jobs

Want to get the most job-creation bang for your infrastructure buck? Focus on meeting the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

A new study from the University of Massachusetts finds that bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects create 46 percent more jobs than road projects built strictly for cars. The findings are based on an analysis of 58 projects in 11 cities, from Anchorage to Baltimore.

When it comes to putting people to work, all projects are simply not created equal, says Meghan Cahill at the League of American Bicyclists in her overview:

Kind of flies in the face of the whole "we can't afford to spend money on sidewalks during a recession" argument being advanced by some leading members of Congress, doesn't it?

Elsewhere on the Network today: Mobilizing the Region explains that an under-reported aspect of GOP proposals for HSR in the Northeast Corridor is a massive reduction in funding. New Jersey Future says it's a sign of the changing times: Multi-family housing developers in the Garden State have formed a lobby to promote their interests. And Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reports on The Fast Lane about widespread support among the U.S. Conference of Mayors for the president's high-speed rail plan.