We’re making biking better in Illinois through funding local bike projects, supporting pro-bike policies and legislation at the local and state levels and highlighting great hometown routes on Ride Spot. In spring 2019, our Community Grant Program provided funding to Universidad Popular in Chicago, who used this funding to teach youth from the Little Village neighborhood the knowledge and skills necessary to advocate for better bike infrastructure and safety to their local Alderman.

Each year, PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings program evaluates thousands of communities worldwide on the quality of their low-stress bike networks through our Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA). Over time, we’ve seen many cities across the U.S. improve their City Ratings scores. While all score improvements are worthy of recognition, several cities achieved incredible increases in just a few years, showcasing the impact of investments in bike networks and supportive policies that create great places to ride.

Which cities have seen the highest score increases over time? City Ratings data reveals that 39 U.S. cities boosted their scores by at least 20 points since 2020 through the implementation of specific projects that align with our SPRINT principles: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data. 

Note: Although City Ratings began in 2018, PeopleForBikes refined the program in 2020 to reflect actual speed limits for cities, resulting in some changes to scores between 2018 and 2020.


Learn how you can support bike projects in your area that can increase your community’s City Rating Score. Through the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, we’re tracking progress on thousands of projects nationwide.

Policy changes also play a key role in improving scores. Our Legislative Strategies Guide for Safe and Connected Bike Infrastructure outlines policies that create great bike networks, including increased state and local funding for bike infrastructure, Complete Streets mandates, and lower speeds. These policies are critical, as most U.S. cities have a lot of work to do to truly become great places for biking. 

Read on to learn which cities achieved the most dramatic score increases between 2020 and 2024.

Minneapolis' score surged from 17 to 71, leading large U.S. cities for the second year in a row. Key factors include speed limit reductions, OpenStreetMap data improvements, and the construction of protected bike lanes like those on Bryant Avenue South, which was featured as one of our Best New Bike Lanes of 2023. 

Not to be outdone by its neighbor, Minneapolis, Saint Paul jumped from a score of just 9 in 2020 to 61 in 2024 thanks to lowered speed limits and projects like the Jackson Street Reconstruction Project, which added safe bicycle facilities as part of the city’s Capital City Bikeway System. With the city planning to add more than 100 new miles of protected bike lanes, Saint Paul’s score is sure to increase in the coming years. 


Learn more about Jackson’s improvements, including those led by the local advocacy group Friends of Pathways, here. 

In 2023, Bloomington reduced speed limits for all neighborhood streets to 25 miles per hour, contributing to a 17-point increase in its City Ratings score. In recent years, Bloomington also expanded its network of neighborhood greenways and constructed numerous road-adjacent shared-use paths and protected bike lanes like the 7-Line, which made our list of the Best New Bike Lanes in 2022. 

Aurora was ahead of most American cities back in 2016, when the city installed a protected bike lane on River Street to close a critical gap in the regional Fox River Trail system. Since then, Aurora increased its score to 50, partially thanks to updated speed limit data in OpenStreetMap.

While it's perhaps not surprising for Minneapolis, the highest-rated large city for biking in the U.S., to have suburbs with good bike networks, it’s always encouraging to see suburban communities climbing the ranks of bike-friendly places. Saint Louis Park, a community of 50,000 people to the west of Minneapolis, increased its score from 15 to 55 over the past four years by lowering its default speed limit to 20 miles per hour and filling in bike network gaps through their Connect the Park program.

In 2022, Corvallis’ city staff updated its OpenStreetMap data to accurately reflect existing bicycle infrastructure, including its Active Travel Corridors, which reduce cut-through traffic, creating a citywide network of safe places to bike. 


Key West enhanced its bike network with several projects, including improvements to the Crosstown Greenway and Staples Avenue bicycle and pedestrian bridge. In 2020, speed limits in the city’s Old Town neighborhood were also lowered to 20 miles per hour, creating a safer environment for all road users.

Although Coeur D’Alene hasn’t yet a score of 50 yet, the city already has 50 miles of multi-use paths, including the popular Centennial, Prairie, and Atlas, trails, as well as more than 64 miles of bike lanes. Thanks to its Complete Streets policy, the city intends to complete another 25 miles of bike paths and 32 miles of bike lanes to further improve its network in the coming years.


After reducing the citywide speed limit to 25 miles per hour in 2016, Somerville further reduced speed limits on most residential streets to 20 miles per hour in 2020 and 2021. The city also made forward progress on its envisioned bike network through projects like the Somerville Community Path Extension and Somerville Avenue.


Following Cambridge’s 2020 Cycling Safety Ordinance, the city greatly expanded its bike network. As one of our 2024 Cities on the Rise, you can read more about Cambridge’s work to improve bicycling here.

2025 Cities on the Rise Candidates — Honorable Mentions


While that rounds out the most dramatic score increases over the past four years, numerous communities also increased their BNA scores by at least 20 points during the same period, including:


From Minneapolis' impressive 54-point surge to improvements in smaller towns, these advancements highlight the critical role that strategic investments in bike infrastructure and supportive policies like lower speed limits and Complete Streets mandates play in creating low-stress bike networks and making cities great places to ride a bike. 


Join us in supporting these efforts and stay informed about PeopleForBikes' initiatives to support better biking by signing up for PeopleForBikes’ newsletter and Action Alert program.

PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings program ranks thousands of cities across the world on how well their bike networks connect people to the places they want to go. The scores provide an objective baseline to help cities progress, but the voices of individual riders are critical in identifying gaps and improvements for how the networks can empower all road users. 

This year, eight PeopleForBikes staff members drew their hometown City Ratings scores using the popular Strava Art method, tracing their score along their city’s streets. They also provided their perspective on what makes their town great for biking and identified areas for improvement that would create a better network for all. 

Great balance of recreation and transportation bike infrastructure (Crested Butte, CO).

Incredible bike culture that welcomes individuals to participate in cycling (Boulder, CO). 

Convenient to run errands and live life via two wheels (San Francisco, CA). 

Easily riding through local neighborhoods due to slow speed limits (Louisville, CO). 

Front row parking throughout town (Galena, IL). 

Riding past an abundance of parks and people (Denver, CO). 

Shared-use paths provide multiple recreation opportunities for the community (Richmond, VA).

Connect networks to create one large system of safe infrastructure. 

Expand infrastructure into underserved neighborhoods.  

Public bike share is too expensive, making it less accessible to all community members. 

On wide, open streets, implement traffic calming design elements to slow vehicle speeds organically. 

More infrastructure around schools to protect vulnerable road users. 


As cities enhance accessibility and safety for all, tools like City Ratings and community focus groups play pivotal roles in gathering both qualitative insights and quantitative data. These resources assess current infrastructure, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately foster progress toward more comprehensive urban environments. Your voice matters! Join the dialogue, share your experiences, and advocate for better infrastructure in your backyard. Together, we can move towards a future where roads and recreation are more accessible, safe, and enjoyable for everyone.


Crested Butte really has the best of both worlds when it comes to riding a bike for recreation and transportation. Our rec path easily connects the town of Crested Butte with the neighborhoods surrounding the ski resort up the hill, and once you're in town, every destination is no more than a 5-minute bike ride away. While we don't have any separated bike infrastructure in town, speed limits on all local streets are 15 mph so I always feel safe. Biking is so commonplace that you'll often see just as many people traveling around town on bike versus driving. When I want to get out on my mountain bike, I can access miles and miles of singletrack trails right out my front door!

Crested Butte South, a growing community a few miles south of town, is somewhat isolated when it comes to traveling by bike, and a connector trail between CB South and the town of Crested Butte would be a huge upgrade for those looking to leave the car at home!

I enjoy riding in Boulder because of the abundance of multi-use paths, gravel trails, and mountain roads. Boulder feels like a safe haven for bicyclists seeking recreation and beautiful vistas. Whether you’re commuting by bike to basic necessities or training for a local gravel race, Boulder has safe infrastructure that allows you to do so. 

Boulder could improve the connectedness of the infrastructure, though. Oftentimes, a bike lane ends abruptly and dumps you onto a street with relatively high speeds or busy car traffic. 

I enjoy riding in Boulder because of the general cycling culture and because this is the most bikeable city I've ever had the pleasure of living in. It's still not the absolute best, but I feel as though most essential services and cool places are accessible by a safe route on two wheels. I have met an awesome community of other active people who enjoy cycling thanks to the great culture in Boulder. 

An opportunity for improvement would be to expand biking access further out from the college campus on the southern part of the city. There is a density of really useful multi-use paths near downtown and the university, and I would appreciate an expanded system that can get people north of the city and to the east/west corners of the city easily.

I love riding in my town because I get to see my neighbors' faces and their kids in the bike trailers or utility bikes. I love how motorists in this town have gotten used to bicyclists and never harass us like they used to. I love the protected bike lanes and bike signals and all the different kinds of people you see biking around. Honestly, I like the challenge sometimes, like when there's a strong wind that I have to pedal into and just put my head down and pedal through it even though it's hard. I like the high intensity interval training I get when I see the pedestrian countdown and hammer to make the light. I like being able to accomplish impromptu errands, popping into a store on my way to someplace, taking all of two minutes out of my day! And the views! I love the views you can earn by getting to the top of the hill. 

But we could be so much better. Market Street does not allow private cars but buses and taxis and all kinds of other traffic make it uncomfortable. Some of the best routes don't have bike lanes so you either have to tolerate dangerous traffic or go out of your way or up a hill to stay on the bike network. And bike share is too expensive unless you have a membership which is $150/year. Without a membership, a bike ride costs $4 for half an hour, which isn't terrible unless you need an e-bike. Then it's $4 just to unlock it and 30¢/minute. A 20-minute e-bike ride is $10! 

I enjoy riding my bike around Louisville due to the multitude of multi-use paths around town that provide opportunity for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel to where they need to go or enjoy recreation without any interactions with cars. If I ride on a street, there are slow speed limits and wide streets that allow cars to easily pass bicyclists with lots of space. 


However, wide open streets also allow people to easily drive over the speed limit so adding traffic-calming design features could reinforce slower vehicle speeds and improve safety. 

One reason I enjoy riding my bike in Galena is the slow speed limits near downtown. Galena is a historic town with narrow roads which contribute to the natural calming effect on traffic. Riding a bicycle in Galena is an easy choice because you feel a part of the traffic, moving at the same speed as the vehicles around you. 

An opportunity for improvement in Galena would be better bicycle infrastructure around the schools. Picking up and dropping off kids by bicycle can be difficult without dedicated infrastructure. 

I enjoy riding in my city because I get to see how people use their outdoor spaces in different ways. I see people's yard art and inspirational landscaping, kids playing, retired people visiting with their neighbors, couples in lounge chairs on their porches, and I am traveling slow enough to smell what people are cooking for dinner. I get to see how the architecture and urban design changes neighborhood by neighborhood and I often stumble upon little pocket parks and playgrounds I did not know about and never drive my car by. I enjoy riding in Denver because it's beautiful and full of parks and interesting people. 

In my area of Denver (east side), we need more designated neighborhood bikeways with traffic circles or even sections of roads that are closed to cars. We have many schools and parks that families access by walking, biking, running, skating, and strolling. Drivers do not yield to me and my kids while we ride our bikes. There are too many conflicts with people driving cars near the parks and schools. 

Richmond is a great town for outdoor recreation, and biking is no exception. After years of debating whether or not I should purchase an e-bike, moving to Richmond gave me the push I needed once I saw all the beautiful places it has to offer. Where I live in the central part of town, biking to my destination is often just as convenient — or more so — than driving. The Virginia Capital Trail is also a fantastic 60-mile paved shared-use path that runs from downtown Richmond to Williamsburg. 

While the central part of Richmond is ideal for biking due to its slow streets, the rest of the city leaves a lot to be desired. Richmond's bike infrastructure on the whole is quite disconnected. There are several highways slicing through the city, and there are only a handful of piecemeal buffered bike lanes with no real overlying network. My hope for improvement is an extensive, accessible network of bike infrastructure that makes biking enjoyable and easy for not just recreational riders but for everyone. 

Bikeable Hometowns: PeopleForBikes Staff Celebrate Their City Ratings Scores

From bustling cities to small towns, communities from coast to coast amplified their commitment to better biking with an unprecedented surge in safer, more comfortable places to ride in 2023. And, with thousands of additional projects planned across the country and more federal funding for bikes available than ever, we can reasonably expect the pace of construction to increase more dramatically in the coming years. 

Even for the most ardent naysayers, it’s difficult to deny that the landscape of bicycling in America is transforming (although not as quickly as many of us would like to see). While we have yet to see any U.S. cities emerge with truly bold citywide plans for bike networks as we’ve seen in places like London, Paris, and Bogota, many are (slowly) beginning to envision a future where cycling takes center stage. Although there remains a substantial amount of work ahead of us to cultivate a safe and comfortable environment for people of all ages and abilities to ride bikes in the U.S., it's well worth pausing to commemorate the significant infrastructure victories U.S. cities achieved in 2023.

Photo credit: New York City Department of Transportation

After car-free streets took the top spot on last year’s list, we’re delighted to witness locales like New York City continuing to adopt more of these low-stress environments for cyclists. Launched in March, NYC’s much-anticipated vision for Broadway is beginning to transform the iconic street with pedestrian plazas, inviting outdoor dining structures, planters, and bike improvements, with the stretch between West 25th and 32nd streets being reshaped in 2023. While the full vision includes a “people-centric” Broadway connecting Union Square to Columbus Circle, the city’s next phase is on the horizon, with planned improvements underway between West 33rd and 21st Street.

2. 156th Street Cycle Track | Redmond, Washington

Featuring a two-way cycle track, Redmond’s 156th Street Cycle Track improves access to the Redmond Technology Station — part of Sound Transit’s East Link Extension — and the NE 40th Street Shared Use Path. This area of Redmond, the longstanding home of the Microsoft Corporate Campus, remains a focal point for the tech giant's ongoing commitment to community development. While the Microsoft-funded section is complete, the City of Redmond is working to expand it further from 140th to Turing.

In September, Salt Lake City celebrated the completion of its most significant public works project to date, the 300 West Reconstruction Project, which features a separated, two-way, 10-foot-wide bike lane, upgraded sidewalks, and more than 200 new trees to provide shade and serve as a buffer to the roadway. New "bioswales" were also integrated to improve water quality by filtering debris from stormwater runoff. The project, funded through the "Funding Our Future" bond, showcases Salt Lake City's commitment to prioritizing biking as a sustainable and accessible mode of transportation while fostering greener and safer corridors for all road users. Special project features include raised sidewalks and bikeways at all non-signalized intersections, bike counters, wayfinding signage, and green-tinted concrete.

4. Inman Square | Cambridge, Massachusetts

After two and a half years of construction, the Inman Square project in Cambridge reached its much-anticipated completion in 2023, featuring sidewalk-level bike lanes, protected intersections, shorter crosswalks, and a vibrant new plaza. Serving as a pivotal crossroads for various modes of transportation, these enhancements further Cambridge's dedication to Vision Zero and demonstrate the power of their Cycling Safety Ordinance, which propelled Cambridge to a score of 58 in PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings program. As evidence of its high quality, the project made headlines earlier this year after a social media video seemingly showcasing bike infrastructure in the Netherlands went viral, only to be revealed as a playful deception filmed in Cambridge's Inman Square.

5. Bryant Avenue South | Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis’s Bryant Avenue South reconstruction project, stretching from Lake St. to 50th St. W., reshaped a residential street in the heart of south Minneapolis. Despite its quiet residential character, Bryant Avenue is a key bicycling corridor parallel to the congested Lyndale Avenue. Previously converted into a "bicycle boulevard" in 2010, the reconstruction — which created a bidirectional sidewalk-level protected bikeway, intersection improvements, pedestrian-scale lighting, and stormwater infrastructure — reflects a forward-looking commitment to safer and more sustainable transportation that’s helped Minneapolis become the best large U.S. city this year’s City Ratings.

In September, Pasadena celebrated the completion of its first two-way protected bike lane along Union Street. The new 1.5-mile protected bike lane enhances connectivity to Pasadena's popular destinations, including Old Pasadena, Playhouse Village, Pasadena City College, Caltech, and the Metro Gold Line Station at Memorial Park. Approved by the City Council in 2016, the project repurposed existing road space to accommodate the protected bike lane, converting the previous one-way westbound street into a cyclist-friendly corridor. This initiative supports Pasadena's commitment to sustainable transportation and efficient urban planning. The project was funded through a combination of local and federal sources, including the American Rescue Plan Act, California’s Active Transportation Program, Gas Tax, Los Angeles County’s Measure R, CMAQ, and Pasadena’s Traffic Reduction Fee.

Inspired by successful implementations in cities like Toronto, Boulder introduced new "tall curbs" along Baseline Road in 2023 to physically separate bike and vehicle lanes, offering increased protection for people biking. The project is a critical element of Boulder's Core Arterial Network (CAN), which includes plans for strategic improvements along some of the city's least safe corridors for people walking and biking. With local artist Talia Swartz Parsell adding vibrant paintings to the barriers, the initiative combines safety and public art that complements the surrounding mountainous landscape. Further enhancements are slated for 2024, including additional bike lane barriers. 

8. Pinellas Bayway South | Tierra Verda, Florida

The Pinellas Bayway South Cycle Track in Tierra Verde is a significant addition to the more extensive Pinellas Trail network that spans more than 50 miles. Originating in 1983, the Pinellas Trail has steadily expanded since, becoming a regional destination with more than 1.5 million annual users. The new cycle track, separated from traffic by a raised concrete island, rectifies safety issues caused by vehicles parking in the prior non-protected bike lanes and helps reduce speeding along the corridor. Managed by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) as part of a resurfacing project, the new cycle track closes a two-mile gap between the Pinellas Trail, connecting trail users to Fort De Soto County Park. “FDOT was able to use their existing standard detail for median islands to separate the cycle track from the travel lanes,” said Kyle Simpson, an active transportation planner with Forward Pinellas. “[That] reduced the cost of the project and did not require moving any drainage.”

9. East Main Street | Rochester, New York

Photo credit: Erdman, Anthony and Associates, Inc.

Rochester’s East Main Street Reconstruction project features sidewalk-level bicycle lanes designed in accordance with the City's Complete Streets policy. While addressing needs such as roadway repaving, water main replacement, and new sidewalks, the project also introduced decorative lighting, street trees, and new signage. As part of Rochester's "spine network," a vital element outlined in the city’s Active Transportation Master Plan, the East Main Street project reinforces the city's dedication to creating a well-connected and accessible bike network.

Through a $6 million Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone project, San Antonio transformed Avenue B into a one-way, southbound street to accommodate protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks, on-street parking, and landscaping. Serving as a vital connection between the River Walk, Downtown, and various amenities, Avenue B contributes to San Antonio's expanding network of bike lanes and links to trails along the San Antonio River. Ultimately, the city hopes to extend the bike lane north of I-35 to reach the Witte Museum and Brackenridge Park. 

In a commitment to enhance road safety, the City of Dayton completed a $12 million reconstruction project along Salem Avenue between the Great Miami River and Cornell Drive. The federally funded initiative transformed a six-lane “stroad” into a lower-speed street with widened sidewalks, a bi-directional protected cycle track, decorative lighting, and pedestrian islands. The Salem Avenue project connects to more than 350 miles of regional trails as part of the Miami Valley Trails network. In September, Dayton approved an Active Transportation Plan to expand the network further, with more than 20 projects slated for construction by 2027. 

12. 12th Avenue South | Nashville, Tennessee

Photo credit: Nashville Department of Transportation

The 12th Avenue project in Nashville — envisioned as part of the 2017 WalknBike master planning process and subsequently identified as a top bikeway priority by the community — transformed a vital stretch of Nashville into the city’s first complete and green street. The 1.5-mile project includes physically protected bike lanes, bioswales for stormwater management, bus boarding islands, and safer pedestrian crossings. 

“The corridor had existing, substandard bikeways — with significant demand for better, safer facilities to connect affordable housing and student housing with Nashville’s downtown and other commercial districts,” said Anna Dearman, NDOT’s walking and biking manager. In response, NDOT moved the project swiftly from conceptualization to reality, with accelerated final design and construction phases to improve connectivity for affordable and student housing residents along the corridor to downtown and other commercial districts.

13. Turner Avenue | Grand Rapids, Michigan

With funding from a combination of the city’s Vital Streets program (a voter-approved income tax for road and sidewalk projects) and federal Surface Transportation Program and Carbon Reduction Program sources, Turner Avenue represents a major bike infrastructure upgrade for Grand Rapids. This transformative project, which replaced a striped one-way bike lane with a new, separated, two-way facility, spans 1.2 miles from 4th Street to Richmond. The project also increased greenspace to mitigate stormwater runoff and filter pollutants entering the Grand River. The city plans to begin design work to extend the bikeway from 4th Street to Fulton Street West in 2024.

14. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive | Atlanta, Georgia

Photo credit: Central Atlanta Progress/The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District

The Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Cycle Track in Downtown Atlanta was a collaboration between the City of Atlanta Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, furthering the Downtown Atlanta Master Plan by enhancing safety and accessibility in the city center. According to Stacy Grolimund, senior project manager with Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, the project began in late 2022 when the Atlanta City Council voted to resurface streets near City Hall and the State Capitol. Councilmember Jason Dozier advocated for the inclusion of multimodal safety enhancements to align the project with the City’s Vision Zero goals. For now, the protected two-way cycle track stretches from Forsyth Street to Capitol Avenue, but the project is part of a more extensive planned network that will ultimately provide direct access to State Farm Arena, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia World Congress Center, and westside neighborhoods like Vine City. 

Physically separated bike lanes in the suburbs? Yes, please! In Agawam, Massachusetts, Dutch-style bike infrastructure emerged as one of the standout bike lanes of 2023. Sparked by the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge replacement and MassDOT’s Complete Streets directive, the project resulted in separated bike paths along Main Street, Springfield Street, Suffield Street, and Memorial Avenue. The area, dotted with strip malls, now offers improved accessibility to local businesses and schools, marking a significant step toward sustainable transportation for this suburban area. Since completion, it's proven highly successful, with increased student biking and plans for further extensions to expand the network. Michelle Chase, Agawam’s town engineer, emphasized, “MassDOT’s Complete Streets program has been absolutely critical for the success of this project,” noting that it “inspired everyone involved in the design to push for the best accommodations even when challenges were encountered.”

16. 17th Street | Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica further solidified its reputation as a great city for bicycling with the completion of curb-protected bike lanes along 17th Street. Stretching just over a mile from Wilshire Boulevard to Pico Boulevard, this project features Southern California's first curb-protected intersections, offering significant safety improvements for cyclists. The 17th Street bikeway conveniently connects key locations such as the 17th Street Metro E Line Station, Santa Monica College, and the Michigan Avenue Greenway, creating a more accessible and interconnected bike network.

Earlier in 2023, Santa Monica's innovative use of a concrete extrusion machine for bike lane construction garnered significant attention, with the efficient, precise technology creating multiple blocks of protected bikeways in a single day. In a Streetsblog article from June, the city's principal engineer, Selim Eren, highlighted the sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and speed of the method, emphasizing the significant transformation from traditional bike lanes to the new protected design on Ocean Avenue, resulting in a substantial increase in cyclist volume. 

17. Meadowbrook Road | Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson’s new Meadowbrook Road project, unveiled in May 2023, has been championed by the Mississippi Department of Health for its role in improving public health and well-being. From Old Canton Road to West Street/Northbrook Drive, the $3.3 million project features a new road-adjacent shared-use path for people walking, rolling, and biking. Funded through a federal FAST Act grant and Jackson’s One-Percent Municipal Sales Tax, the project also included roadway resurfacing, ADA modifications, and traffic signal upgrades. Meadowbrook Road is one of several projects the city has underway to connect its downtown to the Fondren District and Jackson State University. “In our community, our residents value both cycling and walking along with accommodating wheelchair users. With a smaller right-of-way in the heart of the city and the need to use our limited space efficiently, the shared-use path has become our go-to choice in the city,” said Robert Lee, Jackon’s city engineer.

Stretching approximately 1.25 miles, the recently constructed Belmont Avenue protected bike lanes create a low-stress, east-west route across Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway and over the Chicago River while connecting several north-south protected lanes, neighborhood greenways, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Belmont Station, and the 312 Riverrun Bike Trail. The project also improved safety for pedestrians and transit riders through curb bump-outs, concrete refuge islands, and bus priority treatments. 

The project marks just one of the dozens recently completed by Chicago — contributing to more than 55 miles of bikeway projects completed in the last year alone along streets like Augusta, Central Park Avenue in Garfield Park, Clinton, Dearborn, Grand, Kedzie, and Milwaukee. Together, these projects are signs of definite improvement for Chicago, which scored only 7 out of 100 points in our 2023 City Ratings. We’ll be watching closely to see how the city’s score improves in the coming years with its new commitment to protected bike lanes. 

In 1984, when Will Chavez was 17, he signed on to participate in a month-long, multi-state, 950-mile bike ride. A member of the Cherokee Nation, Chavez grew up in Eastern Oklahoma where he’d spend summer days riding a one-speed motocross bike with his cousins, exploring nearby Marble City and the local creek, where they’d go swimming. By the time he was finishing high school, Chavez was invited to participate in the inaugural Remember the Removal Bike Ride.

Founded by Mike Morris and Mose Killer, the Remember the Removal ride was envisioned as a way to better involve youth in their Cherokee culture. The school in Marble City only goes through eighth grade and about a third of kids often drop out when it comes time to transition to high school. Morris and Killer saw a need to cultivate leadership qualities in Cherokee youth, as well as help them build self-esteem and confidence to face life’s challenges. The pair settled on a bike ride that would not only test the youth mentally and physically but also allow them to honor their shared history.

The Remember the Removal Bike Ride retraces the Trail of Tears, a forced displacement campaign from the U.S. government that doubled as a form of ethnic cleansing. Between 1830 and 1850, some 60,000 people from the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations were forcibly removed from their homes in the southeastern United States and relocated west of the Mississippi River. The relocation to less fertile land took months, and more than 4,000 people died from exposure, disease, and starvation.

The Trail of Tears is actually a network of different routes  — Remember the Removal riders stick to the northern route.

By recreating the original route as a bike ride, Cherokee leadership hoped to expose youth to the hardships their ancestors faced when they made the same trek on foot decades before. That first year, Chavez joined 19 other students and ride coordinators on bikes, while support vans and a school bus followed with tents, food, and other necessary supplies. The group visited historical sites as they followed in their ancestor’s footsteps, averaging 60 miles a day. For Chaves, the trip was life-changing. 

“Before the ride, my self-esteem was not good and I didn’t have much confidence — that all changed after the ride,” says Chavez. “I credit the ride for giving me the confidence to take on numerous challenges like joining the army, finishing college, and having a career in journalism. The ride changed me because it forced me to go past my limits – physically and mentally. So, afterward, I had the fortitude to not give up when things got tough or when it seemed like a task was impossible.”

For the last 27 years, Chavez has been an assistant editor for the Cherokee Phoenix, which was first published in Cherokee and English in 1828 in New Echota (present-day Georgia), then the capital of the Cherokee Nation (the paper’s offices are now headquartered in the new capital, Tahlequah, Oklahoma). In addition to his full-time position, Chavez has worked as the coordinator and trainer for the Remember the Removal Bike Ride for the last four years. 

In addition to the inaugural ride in 1984, Chavez also participated as a mentor in the second iteration of the ride, 25 years later.

“In 2009, the chief at the time decided to bring the ride back and he consulted some of the original riders, asking how we did things,” says Chavez. “Except for 2020, it’s been going consistently since then.”

Today, the ride remains a youth leadership program for tribal members aged 16-24, with applications opening each year in September (there are also two mentor riders each year, for those 35 and older). The program interviews are comparable to a formal job interview — applicants are scored and selected by a panel at the end of October, before attending orientation in November. 

"When I was chosen to be on the ride, I felt a sense of pride grow within me," says Whitney Roach, who completed the ride in 2021. "I not only get to represent myself and my family, but I get to represent my ancestors who were forced on the Removal…I [had] the opportunity to retrace their steps in remembrance of their strength and resilience."

Selected participants sign a contract, committing to six months of rigorous physical training, clocking miles but also learning how to clip in and use a bike with drop handlebars and lots of gears. There’s also a cultural training component that includes Cherokee lessons.

“Most of our youth don’t speak Cherokee these days so that’s part of the training,” says Chavez, adding that the cohort’s formal introductions to the tribal council are always in Cherokee. “They learn the language, the culture, and the history of the Trail of Tears. They end up with a really good background of what happened so that they’re prepared when they go out on the road and people start asking them questions.”

Along the ride, which starts in Georgia, riders visit significant sites, including New Echota, the former Cherokee capital; Kituwah Mound, the original Cherokee homeland; Blythe Ferry, where Cherokees gathered during their forced removal; Mantle Rock in Kentucky, where the former Trail of Tears route is a hiking trail; and many, many unmarked grave sites. 

“There are so many points in history when the Cherokee people could have disappeared like some other tribes,” says Chavez, noting that in addition to surviving the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee survived a smallpox epidemic that decimated the tribe in the 1700s, the American Civil War in the 1800s, and the seizure of lands and destruction of tribal government the pushed the tribe into poverty in the 1900s. “Yet, we are still here today. From the standpoint of being a Cherokee person, the ride made me even more proud of who I am and even more proud of my ancestors for what they endured and survived,”

A body of research, published from 2020 to 2022, highlights the benefits of the Remember the Removal Bike Ride for participants’ physical, emotional, social, and cultural well-being. Past riders that were surveyed showed improvements in their diet and exercise habits, as well as their mental health, with reductions in things like stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. Perhaps most importantly, those surveyed also demonstrated improved social and cultural connection to one another, their Cherokee identity, and fundamental Cherokee values.

Participants from the 2019 Remember the Removal Bike Ride walk down a preserved section of trail used by Cherokees in Tennessee during their forced removal some 180 years ago.

Over the course of three weeks, the youth ride anywhere from 40 to 70 miles a day, some much more difficult than others (particularly those in Missouri, nicknamed “Misery” due to its constant heat, hills, and rough roads).

In 2021, the riders switched from using road bikes to gravel bikes, which makes traversing the mountains and backroads much easier. The Cherokee Education Department pays for rider’s helmets, shoes, sunglasses, a bike computer, custom cycling kits, and bikes, which are Fuji this year but have covered the gamut of quality brands over the last decade. To receive the kit, riders are required to pass a grueling 60-mile road test — friends and family are then invited to watch them receive their kits, an event with a strong ceremonial element. When participants complete the ride itself, they get to keep their bikes.

In an average year, Chavez takes 8-10 riders, although this year it’ll be a group of six, having lost two to injury. Interestingly, since 2018, the Remember the Removal riders have been trending female, and since 2021, the cohort has been completely female. 

This years Remember the Removal cohort, which will begin their ride on June 5.

“Elders and council members have been asking, where are all the boys?” says Chavez, noting that male youth just aren’t applying. “Obviously, the girls aren’t afraid to do it — it’s tough and these girls want to take on the challenge.”

At the end of May, Chavez accompanied the riders to North Carolina, where they met up with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who also has a team of six riders. While the two tribes share a lineage, there are still a few differences in language, which can become apparent in the call signs used, all of which are in Cherokee. After a training ride together to get on the same page, the group will travel to Georgia, where they’ll begin the Remember the Removal Bike Ride on June 5, traveling nearly 1,000 miles through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

Upon completion, the riders will join more than 200 alumni, many of whom are still as committed to the ride as Chavez is, showing up to help with training, mentorship, or on-route support. It makes sense — after all, Remember the Removal is first and foremost a spiritual journey. Not only does it test the endurance and emotions of those who participate, but it directly connects them to their ancestors. In riding, they remember where they came from and find the strength to go on.

If you’re interested in following the riders’ journey along the northern Trail of Tears route, tune in to the official Remember the Removal Bike Ride Facebook page. 

This Annual Bike Ride Connects Cherokee Youth to Their History

The Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP) awarded $75,040 in grants to 10 projects that will reach and engage traditionally underserved populations through shared micromobility. This is the seventh round of mini-grant funding the national bicycle advocacy organization PeopleForBikes will administer through its partner role with BBSP.

"Better Bike Share mini-grants allow us to support short-term, impactful projects that directly improve access to shared micromobility for lower-income and/or BIPOC communities," said Tangier Barnes-Wright, senior partnership and program manager at PeopleForBikes and BBSP. "We are inspired by the 2022 grantees and look forward to learning from their projects and sharing lessons broadly across the nation."

The following projects were selected by a grants panel to receive funding: 

Increasing Low-Income and Latinx Ridership on Portland’s BIKETOWN | $9,400
Community Cycling Center, Portland, OR

The Community Cycling Center will partner with Andando en Bicicletas y Caminando (ABC) to increase BIKETOWN bike share access through signups and education in low-income communities of color. Over the course of three sessions, 10 neighborhood leaders will be trained on the process of signing up for reduced-fare membership, positioning them as a trusted resource for other community members.

The Go Hub Community Mobility Rituals | $9,000
Equiticity, Chicago, IL

In partnership with Divvy, Superpedestrian and local community-based organizations, Equiticity will host a monthly bike ride and scooter roll. Each ride will have a different theme, socializing participants around the act of mobility and increasing a sense of safety, ownership and autonomy. Depending on the ride, Divvy bikes or Superpedestrian scooters will be provided and participants will learn about each system and its corresponding low-income membership program. 

Golden Rollers: Introduction to BCycle and Micromobility for Older Adults | $5,640
Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, San Antonio, TX

The Golden Rollers program will provide annual bike share memberships, training, guided rides and safety equipment at no cost to 24 seniors and older adults with the aim of increasing ridership. The program will be based out of a senior center adjacent to a BCycle bike share station. This mini-grant will allow interested participants to gain familiarity with the BCycle system and access their fleet of two-wheeled, electric-assist bicycles.

Art, Bikes and Books for All! | $9,500
Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, Nashville, TN

The Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, the Nashville Public Library and the Music City Dope Pedalers, a majority-BIPOC bike club, will partner to grow the existing Bikes and Books for All program, which makes checking out a BCycle bike as easy as borrowing a book. Funding will help the program expand to more library branches, create bike routes and host a community bike ride with art bikes designed by local artists. 

Blue Bikes Community Liaisons Program | $6,000
Blue Krewe, New Orleans, LA

Blue Bikes will recruit liaisons from the three neighborhoods within its system that rate highest according to the New Orleans’ Bike Equity Index, which helps identify underserved, priority areas. The liaisons will participate in monthly training and be compensated for leading one community outreach activity of their choosing each month from June to November. They will also represent Blue Bikes at neighborhood events, sharing information about the system and gathering feedback on how to improve bike share.

Wheels to Work | $7,000
Houston Bike Share, Houston, TX

Modeled on Indego bike share’s Wheels to Work program in Philadelphia, this mini-grant will support employment and increase health and mobility through bike share. Houston Bike Share will work directly with New Hope Housing’s Harrisburg location to combine services such as resume writing and soft skills classes alongside bike share system training and bike safety. Participants will receive a free BCycle membership and participate in group rides designed to be inclusive.

Building Mobility Justice in Pittsburgh | $9,000
Bike Share Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

This mini-grant will fund aspects of the POGOH bike share system’s equity initiatives, including cash payment administration, support for its $10/year low-income Mobility Justice Pass and its 2022 Community Day event execution. The Community Day will bring families and the neighborhood together around outdoor activities, food, music and a helmet giveaway, raising awareness about POGOH and the Mobility Justice Pass. 

Equity Memberships | $8,500
Tulsa Bike Share/This Machine, Tulsa, OK

This Machine will partner with local nonprofits, including the Tulsa Housing Authority and two prison alternative programs for female drug offenders, to provide a form of reliable transportation to access essential services. The pilot program will offer reduced-priced memberships to folks working with its partner organizations and anyone with a SNAP or SoonerCare card. The goal is to collect comprehensive data before applying for funding to make the equity membership program permanent.

West Dayton Community Outreach | $6,000
Bike Miami Valley, Dayton, OH

The Dayton Bike Share system is expanding by adding hubs in the city’s priority areas of West and Northwest Dayton. These geographies were historically redlined and are still today majority Black communities. This mini-grant will fund work on the front end of that expansion, gathering input from residents, providing marketing materials and helmets for the demo days and stipends for door-to-door outreach in the community.

Beautification of Downtown BCycle Station | $5,000
Des Moines Street Collective/Des Moines BCycle, Des Moines, IA

In partnership with ArtForce Iowa, the Des Moines Street Collective hopes to bring refugee, first-generation youth to bike share through the beautification of a downtown BCycle station. Marginalized youth will have a hand in the entire creative process, from the initial brainstorm to the final product. Every youth artist will participate in two group rides, receiving bike-riding lessons, an annual BCycle membership and a helmet and bike lock.

The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation as a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the PeopleForBikes Foundation to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Learn more at BetterBikeShare.org.

Better Bike Share Partnership Awards $75,000 in Grants

Bikes Belong’s Green Lane Project is officially kicking off tomorrow, May 31, in Chicago. This initiative will work with Austin, Chicago, Memphis, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to support the cities? development of world-class bicycling facility networks over the next two years. Top transportation officials from each city, along with Federal Highway Administration leader Victor Mendez, will introduce the program and announce initial plans at the kickoff event.

We are seeing an explosion of interest in making bicycling stress-free on busy city streets,? said Martha Roskowski, Green Lane Project director. The selected cities have ambitious goals and a vision for bicycling supported by their elected officials and communities. They are poised to get projects on the ground quickly and will serve as excellent examples for other interested cities.

Green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway, protected by curbs, planters, posts or parked cars. The goal of the Green Lane Project is to support the selected cities in their efforts to develop and install these kinds of facilities. Recent studies have demonstrated their benefits nationwide. In Washington, D.C., bicycle volume tripled after protected lanes were installed. In Portland, Ore., more than 70 percent of survey respondents said bicycling is easier and safer with these dedicated lanes, while motorists said the facilities did not make driving any slower or less convenient.

Green lanes benefit everyone who uses city streets, not just people on bicycles, continued Roskowski. ?With these facilities, people in cars and on foot know where to expect bicycles. More people on bikes eases congestion. When people ride bikes, they are healthier, and they save money.

Green Lane Project plan highlights for the six focus cities:

Austin, Texas, celebrated the opening of a green lane in April, and has several more projects under development. The city is tackling major connections in a revitalizing downtown area. The presence of the state capitol, a major university and a thriving music scene make it a diverse and dynamic city that sees bicycling as a way to attract top-tier businesses and ease congestion.

Chicago is leading the way with a bold commitment by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to build 100 miles of new green lanes during his four-year term. These projects will significantly transform city streets and provide a model for rapid implementation. Work on several new projects began in May and will continue through the summer.

Memphis, Tenn., installed 35 miles of bike lanes in the last two years and is planning two new significant green lane projects in the upcoming year, connecting a popular rail-trail with the city’s central park and helping to revitalize businesses on the corridor. Mayor A.C. Wharton catalyzed this turnaround after Memphis was named one of the worst cities for riding by Bicycling magazine in 2008.

Portland, Ore., leads the nation in the development of neighborhood greenways and other innovative street designs. Its attention to detail for bicycle operations at intersections and other transition points is unmatched in the U.S.

San Francisco is quickly catching up after a three-year injunction stalled most bicycle-related improvements from 2007-2010. A new green lane in Golden Gate Park was recently completed and plans are underway for green lanes in a number of other corridors.

Washington, D.C., is a national showcase, with a steady stream of influential visitors. The city is now planning new projects near Union Station and in other areas. The red bikes of the Capital Bikeshare system are being used at least 6,000 times a day, building significant support for better places to ride.

The Project will provide updates on the progress in the six cities, best practices as they are developed, and links to other resources on this website. Other interested cities are invited to use the website to share their plans and progress on building green lanes.

Advisors to the Green Lane Project include the New York City Department of Transportation, the League of American Bicyclists and the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Funding partners include the SRAM Cycling Fund, Volkswagen of America, Inc, Interbike, Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association and the Bikes Belong Coalition.

Green Lane Project officially kicks off in Chicago

The Chicago Department of Transportation has added many miles of protected and buffered bike lanes across the city, but it can be challenging to find space for protected lanes on the streets where they are needed the most. CDOT has implemented ?road diets? on several streets, replacing excess car lanes with protected lanes, which has the added benefit of reducing speeding and shortening pedestrian crossing distances. The Dearborn two-way protected bike lane, through the heart of the Loop, is the most notable example of this tactic.

Now CDOT is considering taking a somewhat bolder step by removing parking on sections of Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago’s busiest bike street, to make room for protected lanes between Elston Avenue and Kinzie Street. Milwaukee’s junctures with North and Chicago avenues are two of the city’s intersections with the most bike crashes, so protection from car traffic would be a huge benefit for cyclists. This stretch of Milwaukee also serves as a connector between existing protected lanes on Elston and Milwaukee.

However, CDOT project manager Mike Amsden explained that because this segment of Milwaukee is 50-to-52-feet-wide and has significant bus and truck traffic, it’s considered too narrow for both protected lanes and parking lanes on each side. On a 52-foot roadway you can fit ten-foot travel lanes, eight-foot parking lanes, a three-foot buffer and five-foot bike lanes, but that’s pretty tight for a street with heavy truck and bus traffic, he said. He added that there are currently so many bike riders on Milwaukee that wider bike lanes are needed so that faster cyclists have plenty of room to pass slower ones.

Amsden said his agency is looking at ?consolidating? the parking on this stretch, removing a parking lane on one side of the street in sections where there is low demand, in order to make room for wider travel lanes and protected bike lanes. If a parking lane is removed on Milwaukee, which is largely unmetered, CDOT may convert some of the wider side streets from parallel to diagonal parking to create additional spaces. ?We?re doing a lot of parking observation right now and talking to businesses to find out how they currently use parking and loading zones,? Amsden said. ?On stretches where we can’t take out parking for a protected lane we?d put in a nice, wide buffered bike lane.?

CDOT has also been in talks with the local chambers of commerce and 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett‘s office; staffers will be meeting with Burnett next week. Burnett’s assistant Jesse Ech seemed skeptical that removing any parking spaces is a good idea. ?We?re trying to keep parking wherever possible,? he said. ?The city’s under quite a parking crunch. We?re going to see what CDOT is proposing to do and see if that’s something that residents and business owners are not opposed to.?

While Joel Mangers, director of Intuit art center, 756 North Milwaukee, said he would not want parking removed from his retail-rich location, he?d support removals in low-demand areas, like the desolate stretch near the Ohio feeder to the Kennedy Expressway, to make room for protected lanes. Anything that slows cars down is a good idea, he said. I've seen so many bikes almost taken out by cars. He noted that that last summer speeding cab driver John Kesse fatally struck pedestrian Eric Kerestes as he sat on a bench across the street from the art center.

Tim Coonan, owner of nearby Big Shoulders Coffee, 1105 West Chicago, agreed that parking removals would work on the low-density stretches of Milwaukee and said protected bike lanes would be a big improvement. I'm a cyclist myself, and this part of Milwaukee is pretty much of a dragstrip for cars, he said. And as a business owner I want to get people to slow down, not only for safety but also so they notice local businesses. He added that most visitors to his cafe, located next to a Blue Line station entrance, arrive by bike, on foot or by transit.

The Active Transportation Alliance has started an online petition drive to endorse CDOT’s proposal, collecting over 1,400 signatures in favor of consolidating parking to make room for protected lanes. We believe there’s support for this from residents and business owners in the neighborhood, so this is an effort to give a voice to this support, said Lee Crandell, director of advocacy campaigns for the nonprofit.

Amsden said he appreciates the back-up. Any support we can get will be incredibly helpful, he said. Knowing there’s support will really push us to create the best facility we can, and also show others that there’s a need and support for it.

Crandell argued that it’s high time that Milwaukee was reconfigured as a complete street that serves all users. There’s a need to reexamine the way we use this street, he said. If the priority is to move as many cars as possible, as fast as possible, we don’t think that’s the best strategy for creating vibrant communities. We think safety should be the top priority. More than 40 percent of rush hour traffic on Milwaukee is bikes, but this is about more than bikes. It’s also about calming traffic, improving pedestrian safety and making the neighborhood more livable.?

Chicago Considers Bold Steps to Make Room for Protected Lanes

We don’t have to dream of a country where protected bike lanes and other quality bike infrastructure have dramatically improved life for people in poverty. We can visit it.

It’s called Denmark, and it’s arguably the most egalitarian country in the world.

Data published online for the first time suggests that bicycle transportation has been part of that triumph. Not the biggest part, but a very real one.

After embracing cars in the 1950s and 60s, Denmark took a U-turn around 1970 and began using protected bike lanes and low-speed side streets to make bicycle transportation an efficient, comfortable option. Today, this small, prosperous peninsula (whose capital, Copenhagen, is about the size of Columbus, Ohio) has the second-highest biking rates in the developed world after the Netherlands.

Ask Danes what sort of Danish people bike and they will probably say: “everyone.” In a sense, that’s true. But it also obscures something you’ll almost never hear a Dane mention: the massive benefit biking provides to the country’s poorest.

Yes, people of all incomes bike in Denmark. But biking delivers its biggest advantages to the neediest Danes.

Who are these very low-income Danes? Some are students living on state grants of about $11,000 a year. Others are recent immigrants and the long-term unemployed, who don’t fully qualify for the cash payments Denmark offers to people in school or between jobs. Because bikes are everywhere in modern Denmark, these poor people can remain mobile in Danish cities without facing pressure to devote a huge share of their money to cars if they don’t want to.

Adding protected lanes to major streets made bike trips as safe and comfortable as car trips

Here’s the complete breakdown (previously unavailable online) of how Danes of different incomes get around:

And here’s the same breakdown in the United States:

For the poorest Danes, car transportation is expensive. But it isn’t impossible. It’s not even rare.

Only 41 percent of the poorest Danes’ trips happen in cars, compared to 72 percent of trips by the poorest Americans. More than anything else, this difference is because of bicycles: quick, cheap, direct and easily combined with good public transit.

Though Danes bike more, they don’t walk less or ride transit less. Danes at almost every income level do both of those things more than their American peers. Essentially all of Denmark’s additional biking is due to one thing: less reliance on cars.

Denmark has made it dramatically easier for poor people to escape poverty

In most of the United States, not owning a reliable car can turn poverty into an inescapable trap.

For someone without a working car, a huge share of jobs essentially drop out of reach. For 73 percent of Americans, the typical job would take more than 90 minutes to reach by public transit. Living carless in most American cities can mean being cut off from many of the family and friends who help people find work, feel happy, care for children, or recover from emotional or economic bad fortune. This problem shackles both the poorest American adults and their kids.

It’s part of the reason that only a third of children born into the poorest American families ever make it to the economic middle or above. Four in ten spend their lives in the lowest fifth.

In Denmark, things are different. As the chart above shows, three-quarters of Denmark’s poorest improve their situation by middle age. About one in seven of Denmark’s poorest children lands among the country’s richest adults, almost twice the rate in the United States.

Denmark is different from the United States in many ways; biking is just one. Bicycling is certainly less important to Danish equality than tax and social security policy.

Moreover, Denmark has not eliminated poverty.

But it’s done the next best thing: it’s made poverty much easier to escape. And one of its many tools in that fight has been making it normal and comfortable to do the daily business of one’s life on a bicycle.

Can Chicago hit 30 miles of green lanes before the snow flies?

As Chicago seeks to implement grand plans for 100 miles of green lanes by 2015, a grant from the Green Lane Project is enabling theActive Transportation Alliance’s Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign to conduct valuable public outreach that is helping to keep Chicago’s plans moving forward.

Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, with each of the city’s 50 aldermen wielding significant control over decisions that affect their ward, including streets. While Mayor Rahm Emanuel and transportation commissioner Gabe Klein have demonstrated their commitment to green lanes, the support of local aldermen (and their communities) plays a major role in whether grand plans become a reality. That’s why local outreach and public support across the city is critical to creating a network of bikeways that cross ward boundaries and connect neighborhoods.

Active Trans has been meeting with aldermen to help them better understand the benefits of green lanes and discuss opportunities in their neighborhoods. So far, 15 aldermen have signed an Active Trans statement of support for 100 miles of green lanes.

Alderman James Cappleman (46th Ward) sums it up nicely, ?With 40% of the people in our ward not owning cars, bicycling must be promoted as a safe, viable transportation option. Protected bike lanes are the key to achieving this objective.?

Support from constituents and key stakeholders can also help an alderman support what might otherwise be viewed as a politically risky project. Active Trans is reaching community stakeholders through informational community presentations and meetings as well as celebratory events that get the alderman and the community riding together on new green lanes to experience the benefits first-hand. At the same time, Active Trans is working to organize supporters in each ward, both online and on the ground, in order to build a vocal constituency.

On Milwaukee Avenue, where the city is planning a bikeway improvement project, Active Trans helped a group of supportive business owners begin the conversation with community members by organizing the first meeting between the city and their neighboring businesses. Active Trans has since canvassed more than 50 businesses along the street with information about bikeways, started hosting Bike Pit Stops along the street to recruit supporters, and recruited nearly 2,500 people to sign a petition supporting green lanes on Milwaukee.

In other neighborhoods, Active Trans is assisting residents with organizing Transportation Advisory Committees, which work independently or with their alderman’s office to identify and move forward transportation-related priorities in their neighborhoods, including bikeways. Several committees have a unique opportunity this year, as four aldermen will use “Participatory Budgeting” to give residents the chance to vote on how to spend $4 million in local infrastructure funding. Residents in each ward formed committees to create proposals for projects that will be put on a community ballot. This strategy was particularly effective in 2010 and 2011 in the 49thWard when residents voted to fund bike lanes on six major roads.

Besides encouraging supporters to participate in that process, Active Trans has served on the city-wide steering committee guiding the process and provided assistance with identifying projects and connecting to city resources and staff in order to strengthen the residents? proposals. Now projects like green lanes in Jefferson Park and a Neighborhood Greenway in Uptown will go on the ballot in May. The next step is getting out the vote.

The exciting thing about public outreach is that Chicagoans already want safer street for bicycling — we just need to explain to communities how green lanes can meet their needs and how they can tap into the city’s plans and resources to improve their streets!

Building support in Chicago, neighborhood by neighborhood

These are definitely thrilling times for Chicago cyclists. Last summer Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) would be installing the city’s first two-way protected bike lane on Dearborn Street, a multilane northbound street through the center of the Loop downtown district. In November CDOT installed bike-specific traffic signals to guide southbound cyclists and prevent conflicts between northbound bikes and left-turning motor vehicles. On Friday the department announced that striping would begin this weekend.

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This Annual Bike Ride Connects Cherokee Youth to Their History

Better Bike Share Partnership Awards $75,000 in Grants

Green Lane Project officially kicks off in Chicago

Chicago Considers Bold Steps to Make Room for Protected Lanes

Can Chicago hit 30 miles of green lanes before the snow flies?

Building support in Chicago, neighborhood by neighborhood

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