PeopleForBikes' 2024 City Ratings identify the top cities across the U.S. for cycling, showcasing which communities are leading the charge in creating safe and accessible bike infrastructure. This year's rankings include a record number of cities, along with insights into how cities can improve their scores.
Check out the ratins and learn more about the metrics in the interview below withR ebecca Davies, City Ratings Program Director at PeopleForBikes.
Why are the City Ratings created each year?
The lack of safe places to ride is one of the top barriers to getting more people riding bikes, which is why the City Ratings measures progress towards building safe, complete, and connected bike networks for transportation. Measuring progress using a data-driven analysis enables us to identify cities that are succeeding in building better bike networks through policies, plans, and funding. We then share those lessons with policymakers and advocates striving to make their own cities great places to ride a bike. We provide detail on some of the best policies for building bike infrastructure that we've learned from cities around the U.S. here: Legislative Strategies for Safe and Connected Bike Infrastructure | PeopleForBikes | PeopleForBikes
Why is it so important for cities to have bikeable infrastructure?
Research shows that cities that are safe for bicycling are safer for all travelers, including people walking, driving, riding the bus, and using other mobility devices like wheelchairs and scooters. U.S. residents experience traffic fatalities and injuries at a much higher rate than people in other wealthy countries, so redesigning our cities for safe travel is critical for improving public health. Beyond the safety imperative, building bike infrastructure gives people more choices in how they meet their everyday transportation needs, especially when paired with other roadway improvements like improving sidewalks and bus stops. At the population level, shifting more trips from cars to bicycles reduces congestion, improves air quality, improves physical fitness and mental health, fosters community, and reduces long-term city infrastructure costs.
What are some of the key factors that make a city accessible for bikers?
Cities that are great places to bike succeed through the six factors captured by the acronym SPRINT: Safe speeds, Protected bike lanes, Reallocated space, Intersection treatments, Network Connections, and Trusted Data. We provide more details on the SPRINT factors and why they are important here: Improve Your City's Score | PeopleForBikes 2023 City Ratings
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