Good biking infrastructure attracts big businesses, great jobs and top talents

Yes! Magazine recently featured an article on how bicycling is transforming business and that cities across the country are (finally) recognizing something we already knew: bicycling makes business sense.

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Showcasing cities like Minneapolis, Washington D.C. and New York, author Jay Walljasper reasons that good biking infrastructure attracts big businesses, great jobs and top talent to their communities.

Minneapolis’ recent investments in bicycling for example – which  include a network of off-street trails, 180 miles of new bike lanes and large-scale bike share programs – are credited for increasing the city’s appeal to businesses in many fields.

The talent pool of new hires that many companies seek is driving significantly less than previous generations, Walljasper notes, and that’s why civic, business and political leaders around the country are paying attention to their wishes for lively, livable places to work and play, which includes “ample transportation options like biking—not only for commuting to work, but also for recreation after work and, in some cases, over the lunch hour.”

The CEOs of various businesses quoted in the article all agree that good biking opportunities are important to the "well-educated 25- to 35-year-olds" they seek to hire. It’s so important that companies – like Colle, Accenture and Cirrus Logic – are even relocating their offices to offer employees better access by bicycle, and make their companies attractive to new hires.

Additionally, another benefit businesses see for residing in bike-friendly locations is a break on health insurance costs, the article states. Many insurers will reward health-conscious companies for providing incentives for their employees to commute by bike.

As cities and companies across the country are investing in the growing trend of bicycling, note that among the cities mentioned in the article, Seattle is left out.

Are we just a sleeper city doing good work in the unnoticed NW (except Portland) or are we falling further and further behind?

The cities highlighted in the article – New York, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., even Memphis and Austin – are on a trajectory to become some of the happiest, healthiest and economically vibrant cities in the U.S. Here at Cascade, we envision a similar future for Seattle.

We look forward to the completion of the Seattle Bike Master Plan -- even more, we look forward to continued and expanded funding to implement it.

“Biking is everything we believe in here in Seattle, e.g. good jobs, healthy environment, healthy people, and safe mobility for all citizens (our children, families, commuters, etc).  It seems to me it's time to pedal faster here in our great city,” commented Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club.

To help businesses be more bike-friendly, we created BizCycle, a certification program that defines bike-friendly business practices in a best practices guide and certifies businesses that actively implement those practices. Learn from the Best Practices Guide and apply for BizCycle Certification.