Cycleliciousness has another great post on why cyclists are better shoppers than motorists
Some stats from the post:
* Cyclists purchase smaller quantities each time they go, but they visit the shops more often
* Motorists are in the minority in shops in urban areas – between 25 to 40 % of customers, depending on the day of the week
* Barely 25 % of motorists leave a shop with two or more bags of goods (as opposed to 17 % of cyclists). Therefore, 75% of motorists have nothing to prevent them from using other transport forms
* Another study, this time in Berlin, showed a massive increase in cross-neighbourhood movement when they introduced a 30 km/h (18.6mph) speed limit for cars, except on major routes. People were simply using their bikes and the public transport to get around and they found themselves more mobile as a result. Up to 40% in some cases, for trips between home and the shops
* Similarly, a survey carried out in Strasbourg indicated more than 30% increase of visits to the shopping area of the city after pedestrianisation and closureto through traffic in the town centre
* A survey carried out among consumers in Bern, Switzerland, established the ratio between the value of purchases made and the parking area used by each customer over a year. The profitability was highest in the case of the cyclists – €7500 per square metre for cyclists, €6625 for motorists
Go and read the original post, cyclists are better shoppers than motorists, for more details.
Great post!
Another interesting quote, given the current situation in Darlington:
It has come to our attention that in some cities where bike culture is still only budding, there is resistance from the community – namely commerce – towards such things as bike lanes and bike infrastructure in general.
Back in the 1960’s in Copenhagen, a radical idea was born. Pedestrianising the city centre. There was very vocal resistance from the shops. There were even cries of “we’re not Italians! We don’t want to walk around the town!” The car was king.
It happened anyway. The world’s longest pedestrian street was born – Strøget – and others followed. ..
Did commerce suffer? Not at all. On the contrary. Pedestrian and bicycle access without motor vechicles created the ideal shopping concept. Sales increased.
This exact situation exists today in Darlington re traders’ ideas about their customers coming in cars – and re many politicians’ ideas about cycling in the Ped Heart. When will they start to listen to the great urban planners like Jan Gehl rather than the dross we have in this country?
Can we invite Jan Gehl to Darlington???? see next post..