Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

State embarks on effort to quantify Oregon’s bicycle industry

Bicycle frame and component manufacturer Chris King Precision Components employs over 100 people in northwest Portland.(Photo: Chris King Precision Components) Earlier this month we learned that bicycle-related travel pumps $400 million into Oregon’s economy each year. Now Travel Oregon, the state’s tourism development and marketing organization, has embarked on the second part of that research … Read more


‘Scenic Bikeways’ help power Oregon bike tourism to $400 million annual impact

It’s been another big momentum-building week for bicycle tourism in Oregon. Yesterday, during a special hearing on bicycle tourism at the House Transportation and Economic Development Committee in Salem, representatives from Travel Oregon released a major new report on the economic impact of bicycle-related travel. Also yesterday, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department named two … Read more


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Portland Biz Journal editorial: “Bicycling serves as economic tool”

A reader just made me aware of a recent editorial in the Portland Business Journal that deserves wider attention. Given the fact that there remain some powerful business interests who feel that Portland’s inevitable march toward better bike access on our roads is at odds with their bottom lines, the PBJ editorial board stood up … Read more


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Report will assess bicycling’s economic impact in Oregon

This “wish list” was created at the 2008 Oregon Bike Summit. (Note the top thing on the list!)(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) As Oregon’s bicycle tourism movement has matured over the past 4-5 years, one thing proponents have been clamoring for is a comprehensive study that measures the impact bikes have on our statewide economy. In … Read more


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Outdoor Industry report says recreational cycling pumps $81 billion into U.S. economy each year

“Americans spend more on bicycling gear and trips ($81 billion) than they do on airplane tickets ($51 billion).”—The Outdoor Recreation Economy, 2012 The Outdoor Industry Association just released their annual report on The Outdoor Recreation Economy. The report looks at spending on gear and travel for all the major outdoor activities and also calculates the … Read more


Buffered Bike Lane with a bike symbol and arrow pointing forward

Beyond ‘bikes vs cars’: Four secrets buried in the new Census stats

This guest post is by Michael Andersen of Portland Afoot, a new “10-minute newsmagazine” and wiki about low-car life in Portland. Photos © J. Maus) The official U.S. Census numbers for 2009 came out Tuesday, and as BikePortland reported, they held the latest evidence that the phenomenal growth of local biking has been leveling off.