Spring weather 2

Ryan Barber and Sarah Whitaker enjoy the sunshine as Barber repairs a vintage bicycle in front of his shop Kazoo Swift on Forest Street. People in Kalamazoo came outdoors as the temperature reaches into the high 60s on the last day of March.

(Mark Bugnaski | MLive / Kalamazoo Gazette)

LANSING, MI — Bicycle riding in Michigan has an estimated $668 million economic benefit annually for the state, according to a study released Thursday from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The benefit comes from several factors, including sales of bikes and related equipment, money spent for tourism and reduced health care costs. The study also found that 39 percent of Michigan households reported using a bicycle for transportation last year.

“What we hope this report shows is that there are large economic benefits to a community, and bicycling as a form of transportation or recreation does have benefits on the community,” said Josh DeBruyn, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for MDOT.

“It may not be readily apparent to a lot of people out there,” DeBruyn added, “but $668 million in various contributions is a very large number.”

The $668 million economic benefit is divided into five categories:

Household retail spending on bicycling: $175 million

Manufacturing: $11 million

Avoided health care costs: $256 million

Reduced absenteeism: $187 million

Event and tourism spending: $38 million

The study, however, does not include out-of-state tourism, which has increased in recent years with the success of the Pure Michigan program. DeByrun said a future study will look at how out-of-state participation in bicycling events and bicycle-related tourism impacts the economy.

DeBruyn said MDOT decided to do the study because they knew anecdotally that more bicycling is for transportation and commuting, just not for recreation. The infrastructure for bicycling also has increased and they've seen more bikes on top of cars and bike shops opening.

"We know it's increasing here and we want to see if we can quantify it, put a number to it, so we can continue to support this growing industry."

This is the first study to look at the economic impact of bicycling in Michigan and the first study in nearly 15 years of any in Michigan, DeBruyn said.

The study also focused on how bikes are used in five Michigan communities:

Traverse City, $5.5 million

Holland, $6.4 million

Detroit (southwest Detroit and the Conner Creek Greenway area), $20.7 million

Ann Arbor, $25.4 million

Grand Rapids, $39.1 million

DeBruyn said they picked cities with different characteristics.

In Ann Arbor, for example, people were more concerned about commuting and transportation, while in Grand Rapids, there was an interest in expanding the trail network. In Holland, the focus was more on tourism.

The study comes at a time when Michigan has seen an increase in the number of miles of trails and lanes for biking, as well as a commitment from lawmakers to expand and connect trails across Michigan.

The study pulled from several data sources, including the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey and a 2013 MDOT Household Survey on Bicycling

Fritz Klug is a news buzz reporter for MLive. Contact him at fklug@mlive.com or 269-370-0584. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.