Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Projects

A study published on June 20, 2011 by the Political Economy Research Institute of University of Massachusetts has found that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create more jobs per dollar invested than "road-only" projects. This study did not look at the broader social and economic impacts of these types of projects although it does reference some other studies that did examine them. For every million dollars spent, it found that these are the number of jobs (including direct, indirect, and induced) created for the different project types.

• 11.41 jobs for cycling projects
• 9.91 jobs for pedestrian-only projects
• 9.57 jobs for off-street multi-use projects
• 7.75 jobs for road-only projects

It breaks down the reasons for the disparities for job creation as relating to the three following factors: labor intensity, leakages, and wage differences. Labor intensity is as it sounds the ratio of money spent on wages and salaries as compared to capital expenditures, such as materials and equipment. Road work typically requires more specialized equipment and more expensive materials than bike paths and sidewalks and thereby reduce the number of jobs created for the money spent. Leakages result from products and goods being purchased from other states or countries. When purchases are made from other states or countries, the production of those goods do not lead to jobs created within that state and reduce the impact. The study recognizes the impact that wage differences can have on job creation, but did not examine them as part of this study.