A December 2010 study of road projects in Baltimore found that, for a given level of spending, on-street bike lanes created the most jobs. The study, by the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research institute, looked at five different types of infrastructure projects: sidewalk and footway repairs; on-street bike lanes; planned bike boulevards; road repairs and upgrades; and basic road resurfacing.
The study found that for every $1 million spent, the on-street bike lanes created 14.4 jobs. Next, in descending order, were bike boulevards (11.7 jobs per $1 million); pedestrian projects (11.3 jobs); road repairs and upgrades (7.4 jobs); and road resurfacing (6.8 jobs).
The study looked at the creation of direct jobs (such as in engineering and construction); indirect jobs (e.g., cement and sign manufacturers) and “induced” jobs (at food services and retail businesses where direct and indirect workers spend their earnings). The researchers found that the more labor-intensive a project is, the more jobs it created.
