City of Cambridge Reports Better Bike Lanes Led to Surge In Bike Traffic - Streetsblog San Francisco

"Cambridge has been conducting bike traffic counts at these same 16 locations since 2004, the same year the city built its very first physically-separated bicycle lanes on Vassar Street as part of an MIT construction project. The city conducts those counts on September weekdays during a two-hour period during the typical morning and evening commuting hours."

"In addition to the citywide growth trend, the counts have revealed even higher growth in bike traffic in intersections where Cambridge has upgraded bike infrastructure. Many of the places where Cambridge has installed new physically-separated bikeways since 2020 - Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square, and along Garden and Brattle Streets - are also places where the city has witnessed the most growth in bike traffic."

"The city's report notes especially strong growth in the number of kids riding their bikes in the city. In the decade since 2014, the number of children recorded in the city's biennial counts has more than tripled. In Inman Square, where the city completed new protected bike lanes and safer crosswalks in 2023, the city recorded an almost eight-fold increase in the number of kids on bikes."

Cambridge's biennial Biking in Cambridge Data Report reveals significant growth in bicycle traffic across the city since 2004, when the first physically-separated bicycle lanes were built on Vassar Street. The city conducts bike traffic counts at 16 intersections during morning and evening commute hours each September. Areas with newly upgraded bike infrastructure—including Massachusetts Avenue, Inman Square, and Garden and Brattle Streets—show the highest growth rates. Notably, the number of children biking has more than tripled since 2014, with Inman Square recording an eight-fold increase in child cyclists following 2023 infrastructure improvements. Despite increased biking, reported bike crashes have declined, indicating safer conditions.

Read at Streetsblog