CHICAGO — Bike lanes do not harm business activity on commercial corridors where they are installed, according to recent findings from a series of city case studies.
The Chicago Department of Transportation last month published a report on the economic impacts of bike lanes that examined six commercial corridors with different types of bike lane projects. Researchers analyzed data as well as surveys and interviews with local businesses, residents and real estate developers.
The case studies compared the surveyed areas with “control” corridors nearby, and looked at the change in sales tax revenue, commercial property vacancy and employment, as well as safety and bike usage data since the lanes were installed.
The findings were released as a few Complete Street projects — which include protected bike lanes plus a suite of other safety changes — have recently sparked some backlash from neighbors and business owners concerned about losing parking spaces, potential increases in traffic congestion and other issues.
According to the survey results and data gathered in the report, however, the six bike lane projects have not hurt business activity after their installation, although the study does not assert that the lanes themselves improved an area’s economic outlook.
Jim Merrell, managing director of advocacy for Active Transportation Alliance, said the case studies are “really helpful” to understand how bike lanes coexist with local businesses — even if the report doesn’t prove a direct link between the installation of a bike lane and a boost in business activity.
“Occasionally there have been higher-profile anecdotes or particular voices condemning these projects as destroying the local retail economy, and big picture, that’s not the case,” Merrell said. “These are complex issues, and corridors are affected by all kinds of things, so just laying that at the feet of a protected bike lane or a Complete Streets project, I don’t think it carries a lot of water.”
The city in recent years has greatly expanded its bike lane program. Last year, “CDOT installed over 12 miles of protected bike lanes, expanding to nearly 70 miles citywide and making up over 15 percent of the city’s on-street cycling network,” according to a city website. In total, the city says it has 500 miles of bike lanes, but the vast majority are separated by only painted lines on the street or are shared with cars.
A biker rides through the intersection of N Damen Ave., N. Milwaukee Ave., and W North Ave., in Wicker Park on Friday, March 27, 2026. Credit: Jeremy Battle/Block Club Chicago
Some bike lane critics, however, including Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), aren’t swayed by the case study results. Lopez has been a vocal opponent of the ongoing Archer Avenue Complete Streets project, which has garnered some protests and even helped spark an aldermanic campaign.
Lopez last week said the notion that bike lanes do not harm economic activity was a “lie,” citing what he has heard from businesses on and near Archer in Brighton Park and elsewhere. Construction on the project remains ongoing, as does a Department of Water Management project that has resulted in unrelated, temporary street closures.
“CDOT is trying to justify the ends by any means necessary, and they’re trying to paint in a broad universal brush the positive aspects of protected bike lanes, as if they apply universally, and they do not,” Lopez said. “We are not one community in the city of Chicago. There’s 77 communities, 100-plus different neighborhoods, all unique, and you can’t expect what works in Uptown to work in Englewood or Little Village.”
While the case studies generally found improved economic activity, some control areas did outperform the studied corridors on certain metrics, and the Archer Avenue lanes were not part of the study.
The city’s transportation department did not provide someone behind the report for an interview. In a statement, spokesperson Erica Schroeder said the studies show that bike lanes contributed to either “positive or neutral” trends along most of studied areas — and that the report “complements” the city’s analysis of improved and safer street design.
“Although it is not possible to isolate the effects of bike lanes from broader economic factors, the case studies show no evidence that bike lanes negatively impacted retail sales, commercial property values, or employment,” she said.
The surveyed corridors in the case studies include:
Here’s more on the case studies on each corridor — and what some businesses told Block Club about the lanes’ impact:
A cyclist rides north in the Elston Avenue bike lane just south of Division Street, where plastic bollards were recently installed. Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club Chicago
Milwaukee Avenue In Logan Square
The stretch of Milwaukee Avenue that was studied in Logan Square, where protected bike lanes were installed in 2020, is one of the most popular cycling thoroughfares in the city.
Since the bike lanes were added, the street has seen an increase in Divvy trips, safer ridership and a decrease in crash costs — a measure that accounts for both the number and severity of crashes — along with higher property values, according to the case study. Ninety-seven percent of public survey respondents indicated they support the bike lane designs.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on Milwaukee Avenue between California and Western avenues. Credit: Provided
Eric Tan, co-owner of The Bike Lane bike shop at 2130 N. Milwaukee Ave., cycles to work from Bridgeport using Milwaukee Avenue much of the way.
In an interview, Tan said the bike lanes have brought newer cyclists out onto the street, giving his shop more business and contributing to greater feeling of safety among the shop’s customers.
“It’s nice to see the amount of people that are utilizing the bike rides every day, whether it’s families going to and from school or business owners also traveling on bike,” Tan said.
Business owners on Milwaukee who participated in the survey noted that loading zones and the alternating parking alongside the bike lanes that were eliminated are important for business, with some reporting drivers and couriers double parking or driving into the bike lane due to lack of space.
The buffered plastic posts eliminated 100 parking spaces on the Milwaukee Avenue stretch and moved them to side streets and nearby arterial streets, the transportation department said in 2020. That was a point of contention for the former Gillman Ace Hardware at 2118 N. Milwaukee Ave., which closed three years after the bike lanes were installed.
At the time, the owner blamed the loss of parking as one factor behind its declining business, a sentiment felt by a few others along the strip.
Protected Logan square bike lanes along Milwaukee Avenue are seen May 19, 2026. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
Giovanni Alzari, an employee at Jules Pet Shop, 2214 N. Milwaukee Ave., said last month that the store has seen fewer customers since losing parking in front of the store. Because the store sells animals with large cages, customers have been deterred by not being able to park close to the store, he said.
“They have cut a lot of business, maybe half, because people aren’t stopping in as much anymore,” Alzari said. “We still get people walking in, but now cars don’t have as much space.”
The release of the case study on Milwaukee comes as the strip has dealt with a high level of vacancies in recent years, although the Congress Theater project and a Trader Joe’s are expected to come online soon. The control corridor for the study on Armitage Avenue did not have bike lanes during an analysis period from 2018-2023, the study said.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), a cyclist and bike lane champion whose ward includes the impacted stretch of Milwaukee, said the “comprehensive” study issued by CDOT reflects what he’s generally heard from the community about the bike lanes.
“Of the many things I have done in office, when people come up to talk about is bike infrastructure it’s always kind and supportive,” La Spata said. “For 1st Ward residents to feel safe is important … I am happy to hear that more and more business owners support protected bike lanes.”
La Spata is working with CTA officials to secure parking underneath the California Blue Line for nearby businesses to address some of the lingering issues, and is in discussion with transportation officials to continue maintaining the bike lanes, educating neighbors and enforcing their proper usage, he said.
Kellie, an Albany Park cyclist who did not want to give her last name, commutes to work in Logan Square via the Milwaukee strip. She sees the protections as a necessary safety measure, but said she’s still seen crashes with cars and cyclists.
“On Milwaukee Avenue I have the most struggles with cars pulling over and parking in the bike lane, or people walking in the bike lane,” Kellie said. “They are safer overall but that still doesn’t make it my favorite experience.”
More public education is still necessary to curb some of these issues, both Kellie and Tan said.
Protected Logan square bike lanes along Milwaukee Avenue are seen May 19, 2026. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
North Avenue in Humboldt Park
Other businesses along some of the studied corridors across the city reported different experiences with bike lanes.
One factor, business owners who spoke with Block Club said, is whether or not a bike lane includes a curb separating bikers from traffic, which could impact parking, or just painted lines marking the lane.
On North Avenue between California and Central Park avenues in Humboldt Park, there is a painted bike lane in both directions.
The study found that sales tax revenue, private sector employment and commercial property vacancy rates in the area positively outperformed a control strip with no bike lane on Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square — although commercial property values did not improve as much.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on North Avenue between Central Park and California avenues. Credit: Provided
Just having painted lanes with no barriers also did not necessarily affect bike safety during the examined timeframe, the study found.
“The number of crashes involving bicyclists remained the same prior to and after the … bike lane installation (9 crashes between 2018-2019 and 9 crashes between 2021-2022),” the study said.
Anton Adkins, who opened Café Calidá coffee shop along the stretch in 2022, said the bike lanes’ impact has been “neutral” on his business. The area is also served by several bus lines but is not close to an “L” station.
Adkins told Block Club he and other nearby business owners would prefer to keep the existing painted lanes — without additional barriers — to accommodate both drivers and cyclists.
“The majority of my customers are people who drive up, and until until we find a way … to blend the two well, I think at this point, at least, especially talking to other business owners, I think the way that it currently is, is probably the best way,” Adkins said.
The protected bike lane on Clark St. in Andersonville on Friday, June 5, 2026. Credit: Zoey Duchene/Block Club Chicago
Clark Street In Andersonville
In 2019, a bike lane was installed along Clark Street between Edgewater and Lawrence avenues. Before that, there were marked shared lanes.
Most of the corridor has a striped bike lane, meaning it isn’t separated by a concrete barricade and parking wasn’t eliminated. Concrete protections for part of the lane between Winnemac and Lawrence avenues were added last year.
In its case study of the corridor, CDOT said it found more people are biking in the area, which has continued to attract businesses since the lane installation.
The city also found that sales tax revenue along the corridor didn’t change after the bike lanes were installed. They noted that sales tax revenue fell by 50 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has since recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on Clark Street between Lawrence and Edgewater avenues. Credit: Provided
Most residents and visitors — 83 percent — who completed CDOT’s public survey for the Clark Street project said they were supportive of bike lanes, even if parking is reduced. About half of those who responded to a business owner survey said they support bike lanes, but the support decreased to 37 percent if it was posed that parking be reduced as a result.
Tyler McCall, co-owner of the Andersonville stationary shop Paper & Pencil, said thousands of customers — from the neighborhood as well as other parts of the city and suburbs — shop at the story every week. Very rarely does he hear complaints about people having difficulty getting to the story or parking, McCall said.
Paper & Pencil had been located at 1480 W. Berwyn Ave. for about three years, but just last month added a second location around the corner at a previously vacant storefront at 5208 N. Clark St., just north of Foster Avenue.
In the few weeks they’ve been on Clark Street, the new store has already seen an increase in foot traffic on all days of the week, McCall said.
“Being on Clark Street just means we’re way more visible, and people know that we exist,” he said. “It’s funny the number of people that have come in over the past few weeks who have asked if we’re a new business, even though we’ve been around for three years now.”
McCall said he thinks bike lanes and pedestrian infrastructure in the area is good for business — or at the very least, isn’t harmful, he said, citing CDOT’s study.
“If anything, I would love to see this infrastructure go further,” McCall said, specifically mentioning a need for more bike racks and Divvy stations along the corridor and potentially a protected bike lane continuing north along Clark Street.
“I think our neighborhood is best experienced when you are taking time to be in the neighborhood, whether that’s on foot or on a bike,” he said. “That actually gets you the opportunity to look in shops and see what they have and pay attention to things much more easily.”
New, raised bike lanes, extended curbs and wider sidewalks with benches opened on Chicago Avenue in May in the Austin neighborhood as part of a CDOT overhaul. Credit: Michael Liptrot/Block Club Chicago
Clybourn Avenue In Lincoln Park
On Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park, the bike lane between Division and Halsted streets was constructed in 2015. Before then, the mostly-commercial corridor had no dedicated bike infrastructure.
To make room for the new protected and painted lanes, on-street parking was consolidated to one side of the street.
Today, the stretch of businesses and retail between Halsted and Division is best known for the New City, the multi-level mall and entertainment district that houses several big box retailers and grocers like Dicks Sporting Goods, Mariano’s, AT&T, the Tecalitlan restaurant and an AMC movie theater.
Further east on Clybourn, a Jewel-Osco shares a massive parking lot with a Wells Fargo branch.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on Clybourn Avenue between Division and Halsted streets. Credit: Provided
The city-commissioned study found the protected bike lane installed on Clybourn Avenue was associated with increased bicycle use and improved safety, while finding mixed results for the corridor’s overall economic performance.
Sales tax revenue along Clybourn declined 28 percent after the bike lane was installed, compared with a 10 percent decline on the control corridor. But researchers said it was unlikely the bike lane caused the drop, noting that both corridors experienced declines and that many of Clybourn’s largest retailers have dedicated parking lots.
Researchers compared the Clybourn corridor to a similar stretch of North Avenue without bike lanes and found Divvy trips increased 26 percent on Clybourn after the installation, compared with 4 percent on the control street.
During the same period, crash costs fell 56 percent on Clybourn while increasing 98 percent on North Avenue.
One business owner along the corridor said the bike lanes have had little impact on his bottom line.
Andy Kurkulis, owner of Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, 1279 N Clybourn Ave., said most of his customers arrive by car and many travel from outside the city to visit the specialty retailer. Because the business draws relatively low customer volumes and still has access to nearby street parking, the bike lane has neither helped nor hurt sales, he said.
“We’re not a high-volume store,” Kurkulis said. “A day with 20 customers is a great day here.”
Instead, Kurkulis said his biggest issue is pedestrian safety. The protected bike lane separates parked cars from the sidewalk, creating a situation where customers — particularly older shoppers unfamiliar with the area — must cross the bike lane to reach their vehicles.
“We’ve had close calls multiple times,” Kurkulis said. “Whenever we have elderly people in here, especially from the suburbs, generally one of us will walk them outside and make sure they don’t get run over by a bike.”
Despite those concerns, Kurkulis said he supports the existence of bike lanes and understands why they were installed, recalling a fatal crash involving a cyclist he witnessed years before the project was built.
Kurkulis added that the city could do more to improve interactions between cyclists and pedestrians, particularly as e-bikes and scooters become more common on the corridor.
“It hasn’t really affected our business one way or the other,” he said. “I wish they could come up with a system where bikers were more aware of pedestrians and vice versa.”
A cyclist rides in the protected bike lane on Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park on June 10, 2026. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
71st Street In South Shore
The 71st Street painted bike lanes from Jeffery to Yates boulevards in South Shore were installed in 2021 without removing parking on either side of the street.
The lanes have coincided with an overall boost in cyclists, though Divvy trips decreased by 32 percent during the study, the report found.
Bike lanes along 71st Street have been incrementally extended, with painted lanes now connecting Vincennes Avenue to Yates Boulevard — including a protected lane between Langley and Dorchester avenues.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on 71st Street between Jeffrey and Yates boulevards.
Half of business owners who responded to the city’s survey said they don’t believe their number of customers has changed since the bike lanes were installed, according to the study. Asia Teague, owner of With You in Mind Resale Shoppe, 2232 E. 71st St., told Block Club she’s seen “no increase in traffic” that she’d attribute to the lanes.
However, she’s seen a noticeable uptick in visitors at neighboring eateries like Give Me Some Sugah and Surf’s Up South Shore, and more cyclists and scooter-riders are using 71st Street than they were prior to the lanes’ installation, she said.
Despite the lack of increased business to her own shop, Teague is supportive of the bike lanes — a view shared by three in five residents and visitors in the area who took the city’s survey.
Business leaders have also said improving mobility in South Shore is necessary as they seek to capitalize on nearby projects like the Obama Presidential Center and Quantum Shore Chicago development.
Shop owners told city officials in the case study that they’d like to attract more cyclists to the corridor from the Lakefront Trail, which ends at 71st Street, with better signage and navigation.
The CorridorLive study, a development plan headed up by the South Shore Chamber, also calls for improved bike infrastructure and mobility options to “reduce car dependence and parking needs.”
A painted bike lane runs along the Metra Electric train tracks on 71st Street in South Shore on Aug. 14, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Ewing Avenue In East Side
The city added painted bike lanes on Ewing Avenue between 104th and 108th streets, where there were previously no lanes, in 2020.
Since the lanes were painted, the corridor has seen more cyclists and Divvy trips, though there is “no evidence that the bike lane installation has impacted safety along Ewing Avenue,” since crash costs on both the study and control corridor show a similar increase, officials said.
A map of where a city-backed case study examined the economic impact of a bike lane on Ewing Avenue between 104th and 108th streets.
Business owners surveyed and interviewed for the case study “consider bike lanes to be neither positive nor negative for their businesses,” as car traffic on Ewing may deter cyclists from the stretch even with the lanes, officials said.
The study corridor connects via bike lanes elsewhere on Ewing Avenue and 112th Street to the Burnham Greenway trail system. State, county and local governments are working to fill a nearly 3-mile gap in the greenway, which would connect the Southeast Side with suburban Lansing when completed.
Meanwhile, one apparent shortfall in the report is a large discrepancy between the public survey response rate on the North Side compared to the South Side.
For example, a survey about the Clark Street bike lanes received more than 2,000 public responses, with the Milwaukee lanes garnering around 500, according to the overall case study. In comparison, the 71st Street corridor got 53 public responses, and Ewing Avenue just seven.
Merrell, with the Active Transportation Alliance, said while the case studies aren’t perfect, he hopes the city continues to build upon them and look into bike lanes’ impact in the future.
“It’s just a really hard thing to measure,” said Merrell, nothing that everything from the pandemic to tariffs have an impact on local businesses. “That being said, I think it’s an important thing to keep trying to understand, so I think it was a good, really interesting effort.”
Patrick Filbin, Madison Savedra and Maxwell Evans contributed reporting.