Streets & Commerce

TL;DR (too long; didn't read)

• People on foot and on bike visit more often and keep spending locally.

• Pedestrian-friendly streets reliably increase sales and property value.

• Protected bike lanes and calm streets attract new spending and jobs.

• Businesses often over-estimate the parking needs of their customers.

• Street design shapes "noticeability" and impulse visits - parking doesn't buy eyes on storefronts.

Madison has a number of beloved residential, retail, and transportation corridors including but not limited to Williamson St, Regent St, Monroe St, and East Johnston St. Whenever the design of these streets is up for consideration- be it in the context of a total reconstruction, resurfacing, or a smaller-scale, incremental change- businesses along these streets give concerns about parking more weight than the friendliness of the space to those outside of a car. Below, we'll walk through why making these streets more comfortable for people walking, biking, and taking transit helps buisnesses.

A quick note about our priorities: Strong Towns acknowledges that a healthy local business environment is critical for the financial resiliency of a City. We know that, on a per-acre basis, small businesses provide more property tax revenue than big box retailers. Here are the numbers:

• The Walmart on Watts Rd generates $154,348.41 in property taxes per year on an 11.8 acre lot. Compare that against an 11.75 acre stretch of Williamson St (encompassing businesses like Weary Traveler, Ha Long Bay, Willy St Co-Op, and Saint Vincent) which generates $780,160.97 annually. That means those 2 1/3 blocks of Willy St generate property taxes at staggering 507% of Walmart's rate.

• Given that understanding, Strong Towns Madison wouldn't be making this case if we didn't strongly believe this was the right choice for local businesses.

Let's dive in.

People on foot and on bike visit more often and keep spending locally.

Multiple studies show that while motorists often spend more per visit, pedestrians and cyclists visit more frequently and spend more per month, which matters for cafés, restaurants, and specialty retailers that benefit from repeat customers. For example, research summarized by the League of American Bicyclists and other corridor studies found cyclists spent ~24% more per month than people who drove in some shopping areas, and corridor improvements have been associated with substantial retail gains in follow-up studies. Source: League of American Bicyclists

In Madison: Our streets' strengths are local, frequent trips (i.e. morning coffee, lunch, quick errands, nights out). Increasing the number of comfortable, safe trips by walking and biking turns passersby into repeat customers.

Pedestrian-friendly streets reliably increase sales and property value.

The Living Streets “Pedestrian Pound” finds pedestrianized streets and improved walking environments are linked to higher sales and stronger local economies. The analysis shows consistent benefits from investing in walking infrastructure. Safer, more pleasant sidewalks and curbspace convert passersby into customers. Source: Living Streets

In Madison: Converting curb space to wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes, or patio space makes stores easier to notice and invite people to linger, both of which increase their spending odds.

Protected bike lanes and calm streets attract new spending and jobs.

Corridor studies (in Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, and others) show protected bike lanes and related street improvements are associated with growth in retail employment and food sales. One Minneapolis corridor study reported a double-digit increase in retail employment and sizable increases in food sales after bike infrastructure was added. Source: Bay Area Bicycle Law

In Madison: Bike lanes make the street usable for short, frequent trips from surrounding neighborhoods. This is the exact customer base needed on streets like Williamson, Regent, Monroe, and Johnson.

Businesses often overestimate the share of customers who need on-street parking.

Research and practitioner reporting (and decades of work by parking experts like Donald Shoup) show merchants typically overvalue on-street parking because human perception biases weight cars heavily. Surveys find shopkeepers overestimate car arrivals and underestimate walking/transit/bike trips — meaning decisions based on those perceptions can hurt business outcomes. Simply put: the fear “remove my parking and customers will disappear” isn’t backed up by many empirical studies. Source: Greater Greater Washington

In Madison: A short audit of actual customer behavior often shows most customers arrive by foot, bike, or transit, especially on neighborhood commercial streets. Therefore, removing a few parking stalls mostly affects the minority of visits that depend on curbside parking.

• Want to conduct your own audit? Send us an email at strongtownsmadison@gmail.com to be sent a QR code to our free-to-use survey and have your business included. We'll analyze the data and send you results. Feel free to reach out with questions; we're happy to help you tailor it as needed.

Street design shapes "noticeability" and impulse visits - parking doesn't buy eyes on storefronts.

A moving car lets you see less than a person walking or biking past a block. Slower vehicle speeds, widened sidewalks, outdoor seating, and visible bike parking increase visibility and impulse stopping — which is how small businesses grow daily sales. Studies from multiple cities tie these design changes to higher foot traffic and increased retail activity. Source: Living Streets

How to reduce the downside to customers who drive.

If merchants worry about specific customers who need curb parking, design the changes to preserve what matters most: short-term loading and quick-turnover spaces, deliveries, accessible parking nearby, and clear wayfinding to nearby off-street lots. Many successful projects combine protected bike lanes with designated short-term curb zones and clear signage, which serves as a low-cost way to protect business access while gaining the economic benefits of better sidewalks and bike facilities. 

Bottom line for Madison businesses.

Removing a modest number of on-street stalls to create comfortable walking and biking space is an investment, not a cost. The evidence shows improved walking/biking environments increase frequency of visits, improve visibility for shops, support job growth, and strengthen retail sales; outcomes that matter for Willy’s small businesses more than the narrow metric of curb stall counts. If the goal is a thriving, resilient commercial corridor with repeat customers and strong nighttime activity, prioritizing people over parked cars is a proven strategy.