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The true cost of bike lanes
Plus, going-to-the-sun road, laundry on bike trips, and stats for the nerds
Sam Westby
January 09, 2025
Welcome to the Bike Bulletin. Rolling into your inbox every Thursday (more consistently than your friend’s New Year’s resolutions).
I appreciate your feedback on this newsletter! Hit reply to tell me what I’m doing well and what I can do better.
—Sam Westby @samcwestby
This is a weekly newsletter about bike trips, urban cycling, and a love for two-wheeled transit. The more time you spend on a bike, the better. I share new editions every Thursday, gearing you up for the ride ahead.
Here’s what we have today.
🌍 RIDE: Going-to-the-Sun Road
❓ QUESTION: How much do bike lanes actually cost?
💡 TIP: How I do laundry on a bike trip
📖 READ: Vision Zero begins with drivers
🎥 WATCH: How to stealth camp on a bike tour
🚲 ARCHIVES: Girl on Bicycle (1921)
📰 NEWS: Stats for the Nerds
RIDE ON MY RADAR
Going-to-the-Sun Road
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Here’s what you’d be getting yourself into.
16 miles (27 km) up, and 16 miles (27 km) back down.
3,200 ft (975 m) of vertical gain. That’s a climb!
Glacier National Park, Montana, United States
Zero cars IF riding between late April and mid-June
The craziest views on a wild skinny road
Do not ride if you’re afraid of heights
I drove the length of this road in 2015 and had a hard time enjoying it because I thought we were going to fall off the side of the cliff. I’m still here, but I would much rather bike it again than drive.
THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
The true cost of bike lanes
How much does it cost to build a bike lane?
In 2014, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimated that adding a vehicle lane to a major urban road costs $64 million per mile [1]. Add some inflation to the mix, and we’re talking 9-figures for a mile of driving.
On the cheaper side, the report said resurfacing minor urban arterial flat roads costs $346,000 / mile. That’s an easier pill to swallow.
What about bike facilities?
Building a mile of new paved bike trail in Indiana costs between $500,000 and $900,000 / mile (in 2019) [2]. Why so expensive?
Earthwork and Grading
Aggregate Base Material
Surface Material
Landscaping (5% of subtotal)
Drainage (10% of subtotal)
Maintenance of Traffic (5% of subtotal)
Utility Adjustments (10% of subtotal)
Design (20% of construction total)
Don’t worry, urban bike lanes are (almost) always cheaper. Portland, Oregon released all their costs in a 2013 report [3].
Standard bike lane - $19,000 / mile
Buffered bike lane - $30,000 / mile
One-way raised cycle track - $360,000 / mile
Two-way raised cycle track - $2.3 million / mile
I was shocked by the two-way raised cycle track cost! What’s going on there? No idea.
Would you rather spend $30,000 to add a buffered bike lane or spend $64M to add a new vehicle lane?
Sources:
BIKE TRIP TIP
How to do laundry on a bike trip?
It’s important to clean your clothes when you’re living out of your bike. People will magically seem nicer to you. Strangers will get closer to you and want to talk to you (ok maybe you don’t want that). Either way, you’ll feel oddly relaxed, and your clothes will last longer.
I rarely washed my bibs during the Tour Divide last summer. Now you can see my entire butt crack through the fabric.
Here’s where you can find laundry machines.
Laundromat — the least fun option, but the easiest to find.
Hotels / motels — nearly every one I’ve been to has had a washer and dryer hidden somewhere. The front desk usually sells detergent, too.
Warm Showers Hosts — ask nicely, and they’ll be happy to let you use the washer / dryer. Just don’t expect them to do it for you.
Bring quarters. The coin machines are always broken.
No laundry machine? Some aggressive scrubbing in a creek or pond does wonders. You know it’s working when you can smell the 5 days of sweat floating away.
WHAT I’M READING
Written by a runner in Seattle, Brandon Black shares why vehicles should not have “monopolistic rights to the road.” It is a driver’s civic responsibility to share the road with cyclists, runners, and pedestrians.
Read more on Streetsblog
WHAT I’M WATCHING
How to Stealth Camp on a Bike Tour
Here’s a little bit of self-promotion. I sat down and made a 13-minute video to share everything I know about stealth camping. It’s a good skill to have on bike trips.
Watch on YouTube
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Girl on Bicycle (1921)
Pictured is the winner of the 1921 Washington Times subscription contest. She won a brand new Ranger bicycle made by Mead Cycle Company (which was acquired by Schwinn in the 1940s).
The photo is a glass negative. The photographer spreads a light-sensitive emulsion on a glass plate, and then exposes the emulsion to light through a series of lenses. The image gets burned onto the glass.
Read more at the Library of Congress
$45 million. The amount awarded this week is the first round of funding for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program. (railstotrails.org)
$1.3M. The amount of private donations collected to extend a bike trail in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (The Dakota Scout)
3 miles (5 km). The length of Cleveland’s first protected bike lane. They are expected to be built over the next two years. (SCENE)
$4.99. The new cost of Citibike rentals in New York City this week. Previously, unlocking cost $4.79. (NY Post)
$9. The cost of New York City’s new congestion pricing for vehicles in Manhattan. The first of its kind in the United States. (NY Post)
A Note From Sam
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