... Proposalstoinstallbike lanes on majorstreetsareoftenmetwithoppositionfrommerchantswhofearthatthereallocationofroadspacefrom on streetparkingto on streetbike lanes wouldhurtbusiness.Thepurposeofthisstudyistounderstandandestimatetheimportanceof on streetparkingtobusiness on BloorStreetintheAnnexneighbourhoodofToronto.ToencouragemoreCanadianstousebicyclesforutilitariantripsmoreoften,itisessentialthattheimplementationofbike lanes on majorstreetsbeaccelerated.TheBloor‐Danforthcorridorisaparticularlyattractiveoptionforacity‐wideeast‐westbikelaneinTorontobecauseitisoneoftheonlylong,straight,relativelyflatroutesthatconnectsthecityfromendtoend;therearenostreetcartracks;andithasoneofthehighestincidencesofbicyclecollisionsinthecity.Thisreportisaboutthedevelopmentandtestingofnewanalytictoolstodeterminethepublicacceptabilityandeconomicimpactofreallocatingroadspace.Thestudy–conductedinJulyof2008–surveyedtheopinionsandpreferencesof61merchantsand538patrons on BloorStreetandanalyzedparkingusagedatainthearea.Amongthestudy’sfindings:• ... 20%.Sinceaveragepeakusageisnotfarabove80%atanytimeoftheday,thepotential20%reductioncanlikelybeabsorbedbyexistingpaidparkingcapacity.Inaddition,evenifalltheBloorAnnexpatronswhodrivecannotbeaccommodated,thesurveydatashowthelostbusinessassociatedwithreducedparkingspacewouldlikelybemorethanoffsetbyattractingmorenon‐drivingpatronsbyimprovingthebicyclingandpedestrianenvironment. On thequestionofwhethertoinstallabikelaneorwidenthesidewalk,theresponseofpatronswasquiteclear:bike lanes arepreferred.75%ofmerchantsthoughtabikelaneorwidenedsidewalkwouldimproveorhavenoeffect on business,andpatronspreferredabikelanetowidenedsidewalksataratioofalmostfourtoone.Even46%ofdriverssupportedtheideaofa ... newbikelaneandless on streetparking.Only22%ofpatronspreferredtoseenochangetothestreet,and25%ofmerchantsthoughtthelossofparkingcouldnegativelyaffecttheirbusiness.Furthermore,thefactthat12%ofpatronscycletotheBloorAnnexisimpressive.City‐wide,onlyabout2%oftravelersuseabicycle,andinthedowntownthenumberisprobablyhigher.Accordingtothesurvey,intheBloorAnnexcorridorthebicyclemodeshareissixtimesthecitynorm.Ahighexistingbicyclemodeshareisastrongsupportingconditiontowarrantadedicatedcyclingfacilitytoprotectthesafetyofcyclists. Bike Lanes, On- Street Parking and Business 23 5. DISCUSSION Thefirstgoalofthisstudywastounderstandtherelative...