Bicycle City’s car-free lifestyle and eco-friendly practices are not only great for the environment, they have myriad benefits for residents as well. Vehicle emissions hurt both the earth and people. Hydrocarbons emitted by autos can cause eye irritation and permanent lung damage, often beginning with minor symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Carbon monoxide from cars can impair visual perception and mental function. 1,500 cases of cancer each year can be attributed to automobile emissions.

Bicycle City eliminates its residents’ dependence on their cars. Instead of driving to the grocery store to buy dinner, you can ride your bike or walk. That short trip to the store might keep as much as 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air and keeps you physically fit and healthy. In other cities, biking to a grocery store might never be a consideration; busy highways without dedicated bike lanes make bicycling a dangerous a feat for both motorists and bicyclists. But Bicycle City is designed expressly for pedestrian, cycling, skating and other forms of human powered transportation and those safety concerns are a thing of the past. Here, residents freely bike and walk wherever they need to go, increasing their cardio-vascular endurance, burning calories and having more fun.

Traffic safety is a big concern for bicyclists, pedestrians, and especially for parents and their children. In 2002, 460 US children died as a result of being hit by cars, and more than 38,000 were treated for pedestrian-related injuries. Almost 90% of all bicycle-related deaths are from collisions with motor vehicles. In Bicycle City, children can play freely in their front yards, ride their bicycles, and enjoy the outdoors without fear of speeding cars racing through their neighborhoods.