Ah, it’s that time of year again. While the groundhog may have said six more weeks of winter, it feels like spring is fast approaching. That means only one thing — biking season has begun.
Under these circumstances, it is important to address a pressing topic: Binghamton needs more bike lanes.
It’s a shame that in a city of around 247,000 people, there are only 14 bike routes. The Binghamton metro area encompasses 1,224.37 square miles, stretching from Owego in the west to Chenango in the north. Out of that, around 90 miles of road are accessible via local bicycle routes. For comparison, New York City is about 320 square miles, yet there are currently 1,375 miles of bike lanes.
Expanding bike lanes improves the environment, health and the economy.
One of the biggest contributors to global warming is the emission of fossil fuels and, in particular, car emissions. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, cars release six to nine tons of greenhouse gases per year — the culmination of which is an extra 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere. Biking, on the other hand, can save 240 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. Furthermore, bikes can also reduce noise pollution, protecting vulnerable local wildlife.
While many people understand the connection between driving cars and damaging our planet, they often have little choice. In areas with little to no proper bike infrastructure, it’s not worth it to change one’s ways. Currently, around 88.8 percent of residents over 16 years old in Broome County use vehicles such as cars as their primary means of transportation when getting to work. This can easily be reduced by providing residents with cheap, renewable alternatives. The beauty of bike lanes is that they can be built on existing road infrastructure, bypassing the costs of additional construction.
For Binghamton University students in particular, expanding bike lanes will expand the amount of efficient modes of transportation to get around campus and the surrounding community. By expanding bike lanes to Oxford Place and Plaza Drive, a bike ride between campus and U Club Binghamton can take as little as six minutes, which is around the same time as the average bus ride between these two places. For those that live Downtown, a bike ride would only take a mere 25 minutes to get from State Street to the University Union. In fact, over half of students live off campus, with a majority living less than 20 minutes from campus. In warmer weather, biking can help students avoid the frustration of dealing with inconsistent bus schedules and delays while allowing people to experience a little bit of fresh air. Moreover, biking would bypass the poor parking around campus, since bikes don’t take up car parking spots and can instead be parked anywhere with a padlock.
Although I don’t live in U Club Binghamton, I remember having to walk back from there to campus on several occasions. The roads on Vestal Parkway East were inhospitable to pedestrians. As is the case with many of the roads around here, Vestal Parkway East is not built with the necessary infrastructure to support non-drivers. This poses a danger to both motorists and non-motorists alike.
Adding more bike lanes could boost the local economy. Bike lanes can provide better access to local businesses and tourist attractions. This would be especially beneficial in an area dominated by non-driving college students. Nationwide, activities relating to biking generate $133 billion annually, supporting over 1.1 million jobs. Just imagine what that could do on the local level. Beyond providing access to local businesses, biking puts more money in the hands of bike owners. Since bikers don’t have to spend as much on transportation costs, they could use the extra cash on local vendors. According to a recent study, $46.9 billion of the $133 billion generated annually by bikers is spent “on meals, transportation, lodging, gifts and entertainment.” The mass closures of local businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic make expanding bike lanes an even more vital part of our post-pandemic recovery strategy for precisely this reason.
Finally, biking has obvious benefits on people’s physical and mental health. For starters, biking as an exercise causes little stress to joints while exercising nearly all muscle groups. Biking also allows people to improve their cardiovascular stamina, which is vital in the fight against heart disease. It has also been estimated that biking at a moderate speed can burn about 300 calories per hour. Mentally, biking can also release endorphins and reduce stress.
In recent days, there has been much protest over the effects of climate change. Here, in front of us, is a sustainable, health-conscious and economically beneficial solution just waiting to be implemented.
Peter Levy is an undeclared freshman.