More Bikers On Bay Area Streets As Gas Prices Soar
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- Californians are increasingly pumping air into the flat tires on their dusty old bikes instead of gas into their tanks.
Recent historic spikes in gas prices are expected to stay high, forcing many to look at their gas guzzling minivans and SUVs in a new light.
California's major cities have been preparing for this over the past decade, funneling millions of tax dollars and grants into bicycling infrastructure and public transportation projects to make them more attractive options for getting around town.
And it appears to be working: San Francisco has seen a 71 percent spike in cycling from 2006-2011; Los Angeles reports a 32 percent increase from 2009-2011. The figures come from studies done that used monitors at strategic intersections to measure bikers, in addition to traffic modeling.
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