City Planner: Last year, the city converted one vehicular traffic lane on Market Street into a protected bicycle lane. Over the subsequent twelve months, total retail sales along Market Street increased by 15 percent. Because the bicycle lane increased foot and bicycle traffic directly in front of storefronts, installing dedicated bicycle lanes on commercial corridors is an effective method for boosting local business revenue.
Which of the following statements, if true, each undermine the city planner's conclusion? (Select all that apply.)
- APedestrian and cyclist volume counts revealed that patrons traveling by bicycle made frequent impulse purchases at retail shops along Market Street.
- During the same twelve-month period, broader regional economic growth caused retail sales across the entire city to rise by an average of 20 percent.Cevap
- CPrior to the conversion, Market Street had fewer vehicular lanes than most other major commercial corridors in the metropolitan area.
- Six months before the bicycle lane was installed, the city reopened a major subway station on Market Street following an extensive two-year renovation.Cevap
- EEvery commercial business in the city depends entirely on motorized freight vehicles for all of its daily inventory deliveries.
Cevap
The statements showing that citywide retail sales grew even faster (20 percent) due to general economic growth and that a major subway station reopened on Market Street following renovations each weaken the argument.
The conclusion asserts a direct causal link between the bicycle lane and increased business revenue. The argument is undermined by statements providing plausible alternative explanations: the finding that citywide retail grew by 20 percent indicates Market Street actually underperformed general market trends, and the reopening of a major subway station provides a distinct source of increased foot traffic.
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Anahtar Kavram
Causal reasoning and identifying alternative explanations for an observed correlation