The Five Most Bike-Friendly US Cities
After spotting this article on Treehugger today, and almost getting run over several times in the last year, I began to wonder: where in the U.S. are the best places for a two-wheeled commute?

Image from Guillermo D on Flickr
5. New York
This may be a bit of a controversial choice– theft is an issue here, and so is the infrastructure– but that doesn’t change that NYC has one of the highest percentages of 2-wheeled commuters in America. With Michael Bloomberg flailing about trying to solve his downtown congestion issues, I can’t see the bikes getting anything other than favorable treatment as time goes on. There is also the annual Five Boro Bike Tour, which shuts cars out of the city’s transit system in favor of a two-wheeled joyride.

Image from Seth Holladay on Flickr
4. San Francisco, California
The second-densest city in America (remember that article?) gets a big boost from having a proper bicycle system freeing up her narrow roadways. Almost 40,000 of the 744,000 residents are pedal-powered commuters, and the city offer nearly 70 miles of bike lanes for them to ride on. One can’t help but imagine that these intrepid souls must be in phenomenal shape, daredevils, or both– going up the hills in the city by the bay must be quite a challenge, and down them, akin to riding a rollercoaster.

Image from jym dyer on Flickr
3. Davis, California
As a matter of proportion, Davis takes the cake–around 17% of residents of this small city in California commute on their bike. Of course, the weather plays a part in this, and also the fact that Californians seem to be early-adopters of nearly everything green. However, some years ago the residents actually voted to eliminate school buses, because so much of the student population was walking or biking to school. The biggest sign of the city’s commitment? They’re about to drop almost $2 Million on a special tunnel, just for bikes, under a surface street.

Image from aroid on Flickr
2. Boulder, Colorado
Different cities obviously, have different approaches to bikes and cycling enthusiasts: my town ignores them, Portland has made them mainstream and Boulder celebrates them. By ensuring that 90% of arterial roads have bike lanes, they’ve primed themselves for success in the mountains, and annually host “Bike to Work Day”, which last year saw 4,000 people participate. The population of students gets in on the act too. Schools encourage their students to walk or ride bikes (another instance where going green saves you green) and participation has been recorded up to 75%.

Image from richardmasoner on Flickr
1. Portland, Oregon
Of course it was going to be a West Coast city that took the lead in this form of transportation, but I am kind of shocked to see that it’s one that’s in the NORTHwest, as I can’t imagine all of the rain that Portland gets can go over terribly well with the bikers that call the city home. Nevertheless, the city has made an effort to connect itself entirely with bike lanes, and is but 38 miles away from its goal. This is especially relevant when you consider the create-a-commuter program the city has launched, equipping low-income adults with a bike, helmet, lock, lights, and other essentials in order to increase their ability to enter the workforce.

Image from dontbecreepy on Flickr
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Comments
5 Responses to “The Five Most Bike-Friendly US Cities”
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AJM
Posted: Apr 8th, 2008 at 6:13 pm1Reply to this comment.Love that photo of the Portland biker on the freeway! I am a daily NYC bike commuter, and I’m so bummed that the congestion pricing plane got the kibosh. It is a city that makes sense to commute in, but all that exhaust and the gridlock in midtown make it very difficult sometimes.
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Paul
Posted: Apr 8th, 2008 at 10:08 pm2Reply to this comment.AJM — That photo in Portland isn’t actually on a freeway (although it is legal to ride on some freeways in Washington and Oregon - not in urban areas). Rather, that photo shows a cyclist going on to one of the bridges that span the Willamette river through the center of town, Traffic flows are very high, but bike lanes and infrastructure have been designed to allow safe riding on several of the bridges.
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Jacob
Posted: Apr 9th, 2008 at 9:21 am3Reply to this comment.I’m bummed my town — Seattle — wasn’t on the list but I do agree that Portland has a LOT of bikers.
When I’m down there, I love watching the girls ride by.
“Get on your bikes and ride!” — Freddie Mercury.
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pingback:
Posted: May 5th, 2008 at 1:35 pm4» This, This Is Why Bike Lanes Are Important What’s Required: Progress in the CommonwealthReply to this comment.[…] city takes millions of dollars and years of training for every city employee–you have to rebuild your roads and rewire how your residents think, and the police are ususally the first ones retrained. Louisville isn’t bike-friendly. […]
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Dee Lawson
Posted: May 15th, 2008 at 4:21 am5Reply to this comment.Can anyone from these cities tell me if they carry their bike on public transportation and if it is difficult or not. Thanks.

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