Need a nudge to get on that bike that’s been sitting in the garage for years? Here you go: You might give Georgia’s economy a boost.
A new Georgia Tech study found bicycling-related industries generate $496 million a year and employ 4,529 people. The economic impact includes $361 million for bicycle-related businesses, $124 million in trail construction and $10 million for events and organizations.
Shatakshee Dhongde, an associate professor of economics, conducted the study for the Georgia Department of Transportation. She examined five years of sales and employment records for more than 700 businesses, the construction and maintenance costs of more than 80 biking trails and the budgets and other information for more than 60 events and 30 bicycling organizations.
“People are going to need this information if they want to justify any type of investments or improvements in the bicycle infrastructure in Georgia, so there is definitely a need to conduct a rigorous impact analysis for any new project,” Dhongde said in a press release announcing the study. You can read the report here.
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