A History of Cycling Advocacy
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Business & Economy

Arno Schortinghuis, President, BC Cycling Coalition

People in the business community, they see their parking disappearing, they see maybe a lane of traffic disappearing, and they think they’re going to lose business. They think it’s going to be bad for business.
They don’t focus on the positive, which is there’s going to be a lot more people going past your shop. And these people are going slower, and they’re more likely to stop. You can tell them that, and that in other jurisdictions there’s been no issue, but they don’t buy that.

Sarah FioRito, community bike shop employee and advocate

People were saying all businesses hate bikes, all businesses hate bike lanes. I was reading this, people were telling me this. And I thought, that doesn't make sense. How could all businesses hate bikes? All these businesses are benefiting. 
I ride a bike to go shopping. All my friends ride bikes to go shopping. So many people around me are riding bikes to go shopping. So many people in Vancouver bike. There's no way that all businesses hate bikes. 

Amy Walker, artist and former publisher of Momentum Magazine

It's about regular people who have style and have lives and do normal things, and it was very much normalizing cycling, so that everyone could relate to it. 
But also making us slicker-looking products, so it's attractive, playing to consumerist inclinations. So we're going show that we exist in that world too.
And we're not on the fringes, we're part of the mainstream of people.

Colin Brander, former Director of VACC/HUB Cycling, current Director of BC Cycling Coalition

Now you walk into a store with bike gear and they realize you're a paying customer. You've got money to spend.

 

Vancouver Separated Bike Lane Business Impact Study

This is the first-ever such study in North America, and perhaps the world, that has focused on identifying the local business impacts of separated bike lanes. Not only has the study provided an estimate of the business impact, it has developed recommendations to mitigate the negative impacts to the business community and detailed the lessons learned in order to guide future studies of this nature.