We can all agree, 2020 was tougher than anyone anticipated. As the year began, planning for a pandemic could only be described as a fantastical thought exercise, but by March the realities of COVID-19 reached all corners of America, dramatically changing nearly every aspect of people’s lives.

As our nation grappled with sustained solutions for controlling the spread of the virus, something special happened — Americans returned to bicycling as a safe, healthy method of recreation and transportation. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 10% of American adults engaged with bicycling in a new way. 4% of the US population (ages 18 and older) rode a bicycle for the first time in one or more years, or for the first time ever. An additional 6% participated in a different type of bicycling during the pandemic, trying indoor riding or riding their bike for transportation.

Local surges in bicycling activity were seen across the U.S., and cities responded. 

By April, more than 200 U.S. cities temporarily changed the layout of their streets — eliminating through traffic, slowing cars and opening roadways for people of all ages and abilities to comfortably enjoy the outdoors while city parks, fitness centers and schools were closed.

While no American city accelerated temporary pop-up bike lane networks at the same scale as those lauded in Berlin, Bogota or Paris, U.S. city leaders did something else amazing — they continued to build permanent bikeways that position bikes as a solution to many of the challenges our communities face, now and in the future.

These projects make biking more useful, more beautiful and more welcoming to all riders. With careful planning and smart construction, cities relied on support from residents to expand access to completely connected, comfortable mobility networks, allowing people on bikes or on foot to travel safely throughout their community. Thankfully, these changes will last well beyond this pandemic.

In celebration of these accomplishments, here are the best new bikeways we found in 2020:

1. Algiers Protected Bike Lane Network (New Orleans, LA)

Our favorite bikeway of 2020 isn’t really a bikeway at all — it’s 11 different corridors that make up New Orleans’ protected bicycle lane network in the Algiers neighborhood. 

Following the conclusion of a city-wide bicycle network planning effort called Moving New Orleans: Bikes, city leaders quickly moved into project development, working alongside a coalition of neighborhood advocates to design and build support for this network. Inspired by the story of Sevilla, Spain, city officials coordinated public input, design and construction as a unified project.

Construction of the network began in November 2019 and faced delays in 2020 as early outbreaks of COVID-19 hit the city hard. However, by summer 2020, construction was back on track and today the network stands a testament to what can be achieved with thoughtful community engagement and dedicated leadership.

“We have reaffirmed our commitment that even as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, the infrastructure work continues around this city,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “One year ago we began in earnest the plan to expand our bikeway network in order to provide safer, more accessible and equitable transportation options. Now we’re seeing the results of strong community engagement and thoughtful planning on the ground in Algiers with the improvements along Garden Oaks — one of 11 different corridors on the Westbank.”

The bikeways themselves aren’t flashy. Designers will note the use of low-cost materials with plenty of potential for future upgrades that improve the functionality and aesthetic of each corridor. However, the sheer ambition of this work, the speed at which the city has moved and the determination to deliver high-quality projects to one of the city’s most often neglected neighborhoods is worth the top spot in our list.

Take a ride on these new bikeways using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/247844

2. ‘Connect Downtown’ Protected Bike Lane Network (Boston, MA)

Staying with our theme of connected bicycle networks…

Beginning in the fall of 2019, the City of Boston’s ambitious Connect Downtown project sought to center the experiences of people — residents, commuters, and tourists —  in a redesign of iconic streets in the city’s downtown neighborhoods. Planned bike network improvements looked to improve connectivity, access and safety for all riders, regardless of age or ability. 

Rather than allow COVID-19 to derail this comprehensive public engagement process, city leaders embraced the moment and looked for new opportunities to maintain the momentum and strengthen community support for the improvements.

By summer, city leaders had implemented a network of “pop-up” separated bike lanes on seven of the Connect Downtown corridors. They changed traffic signals and used orange traffic barrels to provide space for bicycling on these major roadways. “Safe and reliable transportation, especially for our essential workers and commuters, is one of our top priorities as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

Prompted by the success of these temporary bike lanes and the positive feedback from city residents, Boston’s Department of Transportation began construction in October on 2.5 miles of permanent separated bike lanes on the streets surrounding the Public Garden and the Boston Common areas.

In order to best serve the families who live in these neighborhoods, the new bike lanes are at least 7 feet wide, allowing for side-by-side bicycling and the use of larger cargo bikes and adult tricycles. People riding bikes will also see new bike signals at four major intersections. 

Take a ride on these new bikeways using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/247887

3. ‘Gap to the Point’ Protected Bike Lane Network (Pittsburgh, PA)

Complete bike networks continue to fill our top picks…

For anyone that has ever biked in downtown Pittsburgh, you’re probably aware that this part of the city is the nexus of two of the nation’s most iconic cycling destinations — Point State Park and the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail system that connects long-distance riders to Washington, D.C. What you might not know, however, is that until this year, there was no direct bicycling route connecting these two important landmarks.

Improvements led by the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership and other stakeholders have completed the final on-street connections that guide riders through the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh. 

Recently completed projects along Stanwix St. and Liberty Ave. combine with existing protected bike lanes along Smithfield St., 3rd Ave. and Penn Avenue to connect the GAP trail near the Smithfield St. bridge to Point State Park. The Stanwix St. and Liberty Ave. bike lanes have both concrete and bollard protection and feature innovative work around several bus stops, making it easier for buses to pull up directly to the curb. 

The intersections offer dedicated bike signals, complete with radar that detect when a person on a bike is waiting. While there are a few design elements yet to be completed (like replacement of the temporary asphalt ramp with a permanent curb cut entering Point State Park), riders can now rest (and bike) easy knowing that navigating PIttsburgh’s bustling downtown streets just got a lot easier.

Take a ride on these new bikeways using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/247994 

The 5.5-mile protected bikeway on Shoal Creek Boulevard fills a gap in the proposed 30-mile Big Loop trail network around central Austin. To create space for people walking and biking, the Austin Transportation Department led extensive community outreach in 2019 to build support for the removal of on-street automobile parking from one side of the residential corridor and a five-to-three lane conversion on the other half. 

While this street has been a long-time route for recreational cyclists, there was previously no dedicated space for people to bike. Adding delineators, concrete buttons and protected intersections made this street appropriate for riders of all ages and abilities, just in time for the pandemic-related need for social distancing and access to the outdoors.

Take a ride on Shoal Creek Boulevard using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248003 

5. The Hampline – Broad Street and Tillman Street (Memphis, TN)

The Hampline is a two mile long corridor that effectively extends the Shelby Farms Greenline — Memphis’ first and longest greenway — connecting Overton Park and Shelby Farms Park (one of the largest urban parks in the country at 4,500 acres). The project started in 2010 as a grassroots effort by local business owners and residents who used pop-up bike lanes and tactical urbanism to reimagine their streets. Later on, when the project stalled due to a lack of sufficient funding for design, hundreds of individual Memphians crowdsourced $75,000 allowing the work to proceed.

The project features raised medians separating a two-way cycle track from automobiles, enhanced on-street pedestrian crossings, landscaping and Memphis’ first bicycle-specific traffic signals. In addition to seamlessly linking the most popular outdoor spaces in Memphis, the Hampline was supported by community leaders in the Binghampton neighborhood — a predominantly low-income community of color that has experienced decades of disinvestment — to improve access to the local parks and trails at their doorstep.

Take a ride on The Hampline using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248004 

The 1.2-mile Walnut Avenue Bikeway is a new, signature facility in the Bay Area city of Fremont, CA. Extending from Mission Boulevard to Paseo Padre Parkway, this corridor has one of the highest levels of biking in the city and connects to the Fremont BART station, housing and local businesses. 

Designed with community in mind, the Walnut Avenue Bikeway is safe and easy to use for all members of the community and surrounding area.

Raised cycle tracks ensure the safety and comfort of bicyclists by positioning them at the sidewalk level where they are physically separated from vehicles. The corridor also features four protected intersections, shortening crossing distances for pedestrians and bike riders, slowing the speeds that automobiles can turn, improving the positioning and visibility of bikes and pedestrians and eliminating the need for bikes to mix with high-speed traffic in order to make turns.

Take a ride on the Walnut Avenue Bikeway using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248005

The City of Ann Arbor, working alongside the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA), reconfigured several city streets this year to implement the city council’s commitment to vision zero, carbon neutrality and improved equity and access. Among the improvements, a redesign of First Street was a critical addition to Ann Arbor’s network of bicycle paths. 

The First Street Bikeway creates a low-stress corridor on the west side of downtown and connects to the existing protected lane on William Street and the future The Treeline – Allen Creek Urban Trail. Using lessons learned while developing the William Street Bikeway (opened in 2019), the DDA increased protection for bicyclists by implementing physical barriers, raising the cycle track and slowing car traffic. The DDA widened sidewalks and beautified the corridor, adding new greenery, benches and lamp posts.

Five blocks of the protected bicycle highway are now open between William Street and Miller Avenue. Some finishing touches remain for the stretch north of Huron, and construction will continue into 2021 on another section north of Miller Ave..

Take a ride on the First Street Bikeway using Ride Spot:  https://ridespot.org/rides/248006 

The Milwaukee Ave. protected bike lane, between Western and California in Logan Square, is one of Chicago’s busiest biking thoroughfares, connecting to a network of other existing bikeways and public transportation hubs.

Building this protected bike lane was no easy feat — creating the space needed to prioritize safe biking required city leaders to relocate 60% of the on-street automobile parking to nearby locations. Working closely with businesses along the 0.75-mile corridor, project managers were able to maintain critical business operations during and after construction, all while improving accessibility for the entire neighborhood regardless of how people choose to move around.

The new design prioritizes the safety of the most vulnerable users (two-thirds of all injury-producing crashes in the city involve people walking and biking) and better reflects how the community already uses the street (bike riding in Logan Square is growing much faster than the city average). Project features include “qwik kurb” delineators, pedestrian bump-outs, green pavement markings at intersections and bike boxes. To better accommodate the corridor’s transit riders, new boarding islands will be installed in 2021. 

Take a ride on the First Street Bikeway using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248233 

9. West 13th/14th Avenue Couplet Protected Bike Lanes (Denver, CO)

Completing nearly 40 miles of new bikeways in 2020, Denver is already delivering on Mayor Michael Hancock’s commitment to create 125 miles of new bikeways during the next five years.

Among the finished projects in 2020 is a new protected bike lane along West 13th Avenue from N. Lincoln St. to the Platte River Trail. Along with its couplet along West 14th Avenue, this bikeway serves as a crucial connection between downtown Denver, the Cherry Creek Trail and the South Platte River Trail. 

To create space for this bikeway and create the buffer space necessary to reduce potential conflicts between bicycles and cars and increase the appeal for all users, city leaders repurposed and converted a combination of on-street parking and automobile travel lanes.

As with some of our other best bikeways this year, the design is solid without any frills or fuss, but you’d be hard pressed to find a project of this length and scope that increases connectivity or expands the reach of a bikeway network more than West 13th Avenue.

Take a ride on the West 13th/14th Avenue Couplet using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248236

Don’t judge a project by its size. The 0.35-mile San Souci Drive is a great example of how Providence is using green infrastructure to separate space between people on bikes and others driving cars, all while mitigating local flooding and stormwater runoff into the Woonasquatucket River — one of just fourteen American Heritage Rivers in the country. 

Located between a hub of local businesses in Olneyville Square and the banks of the Woonasquatucket River, this project is part of a larger plan to better connect the seven-mile Woonasquatucket River Greenway to the surrounding Olneyville neighborhood where nearly 30% of households do not own a car. 

As part of the project, the city reduced the width of San Souci Drive, reallocating space from 16-foot-wide travel lanes to make room for a landscaped bioswale containing trees, ornamental grasses and other plantings that minimize stormwater runoff and flooding while beautifying the area. Despite the changes, access for loading and parking was maintained for all businesses along San Souci Drive, and the new separation treatments make walking and biking safer for all members of the community. 

The project is also part of Providence’s much larger Urban Trail Network initiative, which will connect the state’s numerous regional trial systems and the city’s urban neighborhoods. 

Take a ride on the San Souci Drive using Ride Spot:  https://ridespot.org/rides/248237

HONORABLE MENTION: South Congress Avenue (Austin, TX)

This past summer, in an effort to improve safety and address COVID-19 risk-based guidelines for mobility and business, the Austin City Council unanimously supported the creation of temporary protected bicycle lanes on South Congress Avenue from Riverside Drive to 11th Street.

South Congress Avenue is considered the “Main Street of Texas,” with leading views toward the Texas State Capitol and direct connections to both the natural and urban spaces of Austin. Many different design options have been presented publicly over the last 10 years, but all faced stiff opposition from business owners and other stakeholders with interests in the corridor.

Following the fatal crash of a bicyclist in 2012, discussions to improve the corridor and make it safe for users of all Austin residents were making significant progress through the multi-year Congress Urban Design Initiative, but were anticipated to face delays. This year, prompted to take action by the pandemic, city leaders expedited the implementation and moved towards permanence in November 2020. 

Orange traffic cones placed last summer to denote the protected bike lanes were replaced with painted striping, white delineator posts, protected intersections and a reduction in the number of automobile travel lanes.  Now, the project that started as a temporary COVID relief has made substantial multimodal and safety improvements that will sustain riders well into the future. 

Take a ride on the South Congress Avenue using Ride Spot: https://ridespot.org/rides/248238

In September 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced this year’s awards for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grants (BUILD, formerly TIGER). Of the $1 billion in grants awarded, nearly $300 million focus on or support bicycle infrastructure and active transportation. Ranging from recreational trails to river walks, large interchanges and shoulder expansions, BUILD grants provide the necessary dollars to complete important transportation projects that would otherwise lack sufficient funding from other sources. 

This year, 21 of the 70 total projects include bicycle infrastructure, a significant increase compared to previous years of BUILD grants. Applicants (generally cities, counties and transportation authorities) recognize that adding and improving bike infrastructure not only makes their applications more competitive, but represents their communities’ needs to serve the growing number of people riding bikes for both transportation and recreation.

Jefferson Avenue and 20th Street Revitalization Corridors — St. Louis, MO

SR 96 Improvement Project: Providing the Critical Link Between I-16 and I-75 — Twiggs County, GA

More Americans than ever are relying on bikes as a means for efficient, socially distanced transportation and close-to-home recreation. Trail counters across the U.S. report a 75% increase in ridership compared to 2019, and governments at the local, state and federal levels face increased pressure to support the growing trends in active transportation by advancing infrastructure projects, enhancing safety and expanding mobility options. 

Nearly $300 Million in Federal Infrastructure Grants Include Bikes

2020 has been a momentous year for bikes, especially in local and state ballot measures.

Thanks to the collaborative effort of millions of voters nationwide, a total of $1 billion was secured for bike projects across the U.S. such as bike lanes, trail maintenance and electric bicycle share programs. 

Check out some of the exciting measures that passed this year:

Denver, CO: Denver voters approved a Climate Sales Tax to fund programs that support affordable, clean, safe and reliable transportation choices such as bike riding and neighborhood-scale transit. The tax will also fund neighborhood-based environmental and climate justice programs that directly benefit communities of color.

Austin, TX: Austin voters approved both Prop A and Prop B — measures that will improve the city’s transportation systems and infrastructure for bike riding by installing an all-electric bike fleet stationed at transit hubs and building a high-capacity public transportation network that consists of sidewalks, bike lanes, urban trails and safety improvements. (Check out our blog for more about this tremendous accomplishment.)

Montana: Montana voters approved a marijuana tax that will place a 20% tax on recreational marijuana, 9.5% of which will go toward land, water and wildlife conservation programs (including funding for trails), veteran services, substance misuse treatment and health care.

PeopleForBikes’ VoteForBikes campaign tracks local and state ballot initiatives that can improve bike riding for all. We highlight these measures to make it easier for you to understand what is on the ballot in your community. Know of a bike-friendly initiative that you want to see on the ballot in 2021?

Let us know by emailing PeopleForBikes’ Regulatory and Policy Analyst Ashley Seaward at ashley@peopleforbikes.org.

UPDATE: On July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a sweeping $1.5 trillion infrastructure package. The broader package addresses American infrastructure needs ranging from energy, water resources, housing, telecommunications and the $494 billion transportation bill outlined below. Included in the package is the Bicycle Commuter Act (H.R. 1507), which would reinstate and expand commuter benefits to cover electric bicycles and bikeshare at up to $54/month. The bike industry and our grassroots network’s continued advocacy for this provision was crucial to building support in the House, and with your help we can help make turn this bill into law: take action here.

The wins we’ve highlighted below remain the same in the infrastructure package. Now, we’re advocating for these policies to be included in the Senate’s version. A bipartisan transportation bill moved through a Senate committee last year and it might soon head to the Senate floor for a full vote. From there, the two chambers will negotiate on the differences, and we’ll be pushing for bikes every step of the way.

We’re finding hope in a new bill released by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that would significantly increase federal funding for bikes. PeopleForBikes and our partner organizations worked steadily to ensure that this legislation addresses the growing need for carefully planned and constructed bike infrastructure that will help people get where they need to go safely and reliably.  

For the last five years, PeopleForBikes’ member companies have traveled regularly to Capitol Hill and invited elected officials to their businesses to convey the story of bikes as a low-cost, energy-efficient and convenient transportation option for the 21st century. The bike industry can be proud of its role in convincing legislators to support bicycling and our businesses. Policies in the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act represent a vision for the future that will help move our nation forward by improving mobility systems through unprecedented funding for bikes. 

“We’ve successfully asked our federal lawmakers to dedicate robust funding levels to build expanded and connected bike networks,” said PeopleForBikes COO Jenn Dice. “Cities and communities that create better bike infrastructure have realized economic gains in tourism, retail sales and new business development. The INVEST in America Act would help cities and states provide everyone with more options to get where they need to go quickly and safely by building more and better bike infrastructure.” 

The bill offers meaningful investments that would enhance and expand bike and mobility networks, leverage bikes as part of a solution to climate change and focus on bicycle and road safety through dedicated funding and research. Significant provisions include: 

$83 billion in 2021 for stimulus funding that would remove traditional cost-sharing match burdens on local communities when advancing projects and preserving jobs in the wake of COVID-19. A 100% federal grant means that cities and states can quickly invest in and prioritize projects like temporary street closures and pop-up bike lanes as well as more permanent bike facility construction.

A 60% increase in the Transportation Alternatives Program, the largest federal funding source for bike infrastructure. This will help construct and maintain protected bike lanes, road safety features, trails and more. It will also reduce the red tape that stops or slows infrastructure projects created by local planning agencies.

$250 million for the new Active Transportation Connectivity Grant Program that would fund regionally connected mobility networks. The inclusion of this new program is a huge policy win and we’re hopeful the final bill will include additional funding throughout the five year authorization.

Safer streets: States will be required to create a vulnerable road user safety assessment which would inform why certain areas are more dangerous for bikes, focus investment in places with higher levels of injuries and fatalities and ultimately make roads safer for bikes.

$250 million for a new Community Climate Innovation Grant Program which includes funding for bike projects as a part of climate change solutions. Safe, connected bike infrastructure offers low-cost and equitable transportation options for more people, and ultimately, a solution for communities looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

As Congress develops a final bill to fund our nation’s transportation projects, we will continue to work with industry leaders, congressional allies and partners to ensure a strong, bipartisan bill that funds the development of complete bike networks and improves mobility, equity and health for all. 

PeopleForBikes appreciates the work of our partner organizations in advancing this bill. Thanks to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, the League of American Bicyclists, the Safe Routes Partnership, North American Bikeshare Association and others. We’re equally grateful for the support of our members in the Bicycle Infrastructure Coalition, comprising companies in the bike industry and advocacy groups working to make the policies included in this bill a reality for communities across the nation.

House Transportation Bill Proposes Major Increases for Federal Bike Programs

Due to the constantly changing dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis, we encourage you to follow all current CDC guidelines as well as local travel advisories and recommendations. Take care of yourselves and loved ones. We’re all in this together.

The results are in — how did your city rank?

PeopleForBikes is proud to announce the third annual PlacesForBikes City Ratings — a data-driven analysis evaluating and identifying the best U.S. cities for bicycling. This campaign not only helps showcase the cities leading the nation in making biking better for everyone, but also provides key insights on how other cities can work to do the same.

“Our City Ratings create a holistic picture of bicycling in cities based on measurable factors,” says Rebecca Davies, PeopleForBikes’ network + mapping specialist. “Top scorers are cities of all types and geographies who have succeeded in different ways, including cities with strong historical investments in active transportation as well as cities pursuing ambitious plans to rapidly implement high-quality bicycle networks.”

Overall City Ratings are shaped by five key indicators: Ridership (how many people are riding bikes?), Safety (how safe is it to ride bikes?), Network (how easy is it for people to bike where they want to go?), Reach (how well does the network serve all members of the community?) and Acceleration (how fast is the bike network growing and/or improving?). These indicators are ranked on a scale of 1-5 and weighed equally to provide a city’s comprehensive City Ratings score.

We rated 567 cities in 2020. Top overall performers were boosted by high Network and Acceleration scores. Here’s how they ranked:


The 2020 PlacesForBikes City Ratings Top Five:


What makes these cities so great for biking?

Since its early days as a California Mission town, San Luis Obispo (or SLO, for short) has worked hard to preserve a compact urban core with a greenbelt surrounding the city. “We’ve striven to avoid sprawl, foster a vibrant downtown and make sure that housing, jobs, schools, recreation and shopping are not too far apart from each other,” says Adam Fukushima, SLO’s active transportation manager. The first in his role, Fukushima works solely on bicycle and pedestrian improvements in the city. 

Since 2014, San Luis Obispo has had a policy in place to spend at least 20% of its transportation expenditures on bicycle improvements. One priority project has been the development of a backbone city bike path, reaching from north to south to connect the local university (California Polytechnic State University) with downtown and residential neighborhoods.

Cal Poly doesn’t allow first and second year students to have cars on campus. This rule, plus the city’s proximity to parks and open space, helps the city get more people on bikes, says Fukushima. “In contrast to many communities where you have to put your bike in the car to drive to a trail, we have many fabulous mountain biking trails and paths close to housing. This has been the jumping off point for many people to not only use a bike for recreation, but try it out for commuting as well.”

In Madison, the scenic bike route is often the fastest route. With a downtown located on a narrow isthmus between two lakes, getting where you need to go on time and enjoying the beauty of your ride aren’t mutually exclusive. Several shared-use paths provide easy access throughout the city and the 936-acre University of Wisconsin campus.

“What really makes Madison a great place to ride is that there are lots of other people out riding all year round,” says Madison’s Pedestrian Bicycle Administrator Renee Callaway. “Commuters, recreational riders, errand runners, family bikers — you’re never alone when you get out on your bike.”

To continue making biking easier and safer, Madison invests in bike underpasses, rail-trail conversions and long-distance trail connections. As a city that sees nearly four feet of snow every winter, Madison is also heavily invested in year-round maintenance of their bike network and has designated primary routes across town that are cleared and ready-to-ride by 7 a.m. Monday-Friday. 

“Bicycling is in our DNA,” says Rob Dayton, Santa Barbara’s transportation planning and parking manager. “Before automobiles were around, it was the bicycle clubs that lobbied to pave streets for bicycling.” Santa Barbara even had the first multimodal transportation in California — a mule-drawn trolley car that included a bike rack on the back for turn-of-the-century cyclists to hang their big-wheel Penny Farthing bikes. 

As early as the 1960s, the city recognized how heavy vehicle congestion and traffic plagued their southern coastal neighbor Los Angeles. This prompted Santa Barbara to take action to embrace the bicycle. More recently, some two lane roads in town were reduced to one lane for vehicle traffic, with the other dedicated to bike travel. Road repaving projects that included the addition of a bike lane quickly helped the size of Santa Barbara’s bike network skyrocket. The addition of bike racks throughout the downtown also helped boost the embrace of bicycles. “No matter where you want to go, if you ride a bike, you have a front row parking spot,” says Dayton. The implementation of bicycle boulevards, streets with low motorized traffic volumes and speeds, designated and designed to give bicycle travel priority, have also been a key part of Santa Barbara’s embrace of bicycling.

Thanks to the growth of California’s Active Transportation Planning grants program, Santa Barbara has invested $40 million in bike improvements across the city over the last five years, with many new projects, including a city-wide electric bike share program, on the horizon. “I think Santa Barbara really has something to offer everyone,” says Sam Furtner, the city’s mobility coordinator. “Whether you’re learning to ride a bike or looking for world-class road rides overlooking the ocean, we’ve got you covered.”

The relatively dense and compact nature of our nation’s capital makes biking one of the most convenient ways to traverse the city. 90 miles of bike lanes connect to 60 miles of trails, with D.C. serving as the regional hub of a 500-plus mile trail network that connects residents to jobs, neighborhoods and parks in the District, Maryland and Virginia. The city was an early adopter of protected bike lanes: 12 miles have been built since 2010 and a campaign continues to add 20 miles by the end of this year. The 5,000-bike strong regional bike share program Capital Bikeshare with more than 600 stations also allows D.C. residents to easily transition between biking, walking and transit.

When it comes to improving safety for cyclists, Washington D.C. recognized that education is key. “All D.C. Public School second graders are required to complete a fun, interactive course about how to safely ride a bike, including a supervised ride around their local neighborhood,” says Mariam Nabizad, public affairs specialist for the District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT). “In addition, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association educates kids and adults of every ability level in courses like Summer Bike Camp, Learn to Ride and Confident City Cycling.”

In 1976, a group of University of Montana students organized a ride across the U.S. to celebrate the bicentennial. They were eventually joined by more than  4,000 people in what became the first transAmerica group ride. After the ride, several organizers stayed in town and continued to promote bicycle travel, launching the national non-profit Bikecentennial (now Adventure Cycling). Missoula has had a soft spot for biking ever since. 

“Missoula’s successes would not be possible without a comprehensive understanding of the benefits of biking that has been reached through decades of work, slowly creating the culture,” says Ben Weiss, the city’s bicycle/pedestrian program manager, referencing the groundbreaking efforts of his predecessors. “Over this time, we’ve worked hard to build the appropriate facilities to make biking safe, comfortable and convenient for people of all ages and abilities.”

Despite not having the budget of larger cities, Missoula constructed one of the first modern protected bike lanes through their downtown over a decade ago, and continues to build and connect their network of bike trails. The backbone of the city’s bike network is their commuter trail system, which traverses town east to west, easily connecting residents to work, school and play. Recent successes include the connection of a six-block gap in one of their main bike routes, the Bitterroot Trail, which included the implementation of the state of Montana’s first designated bike traffic signal. Missoula recently adopted the city’s first Bicycle Facilities Master Plan, which includes a comprehensive vision of a connected bike network accessible by riders of all ages and abilities.

2020 City Ratings: Top 5 U.S. Cities for Bikes

What cities have the most people riding bikes?

When measuring and scoring Ridership, PeopleForBikes looks at two main factors: How many people are riding their bikes in a city, both for recreation and transportation, as well as how often those people are riding. Scoring well in Ridership is about creating great places to get on a bike, no matter what kind of riding it is. 

Our method for measuring Ridership is unique in that it doesn’t penalize cities like New York or Boston for having high rates of public transit use and walking. Instead of measuring bike commuters as a share of all commuters, it compares the number of bike commuters to the number of car commuters. The method also accounts for a city’s land area so that cities like Indianapolis or Houston aren’t penalized for having far-flung city limits that include suburban neighborhoods (that increase the distance and challenge of commuting by bike). We measure Ridership based on three sources:

Census data from the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey (ACS), which measures bike-to-work mode share (i.e. commuting by bike).

Survey data from sports marketing surveys, which measures recreational riding.

PlacesForBikes Community Survey data, which measures perspectives on ridership.


2020 City Ratings Top Five for Ridership:

For Portland, getting more people on bikes means providing those people somewhere they feel safe and comfortable enough to ride — well-built, protected bike lanes. “For a long time, we believed a standard five foot bike lane would be enough to get anyone to ride a bike who would want to,” says Portland Bureau of Transportation Communications Director John Brady. “That standard is adequate but not great. For that reason, we started looking at how the world’s best bicycling cities, including Amsterdam and Copenhagen, build bike lanes. We also looked at what cities in Germany were doing to improve bike safety at intersections. We have taken what we learned and integrated those improvements into our network.” Protected bike lanes are now the default design when building new roadways or other infrastructure, Brady says, not an afterthought or exception. A good percentage of bike riding in the city takes place along the Willamette River, which includes the longest floating walkway/bike path in the U.S., as well as several protected river crossings for bicycles and pedestrians.

While safe bike lanes are a big part of Portland’s story, so is the city’s push to get people to use them. Sunday Parkways, started back in 2008, are one of Portland’s most popular public events that open up five to seven miles of city streets to walking and biking five times a year. “We design each route to introduce people to new Neighborhood Greenways and protected bike lanes,” says Brady. “We want to inspire Portlanders to turn every day into a Sunday Parkways day by biking not just for recreation on Sunday but also for transportation Monday through Friday.” 

Ridership isn’t just about adults riding bikes, either. Since starting in 2005, Portland’s Safe Routes to School program has grown from eight initial partner schools to more than 100 partner schools across five school districts. Today, Portland students bike to school at eight times the national average. Brady says that if children can learn from an early age that bikes can be used for both recreation and transportation, riding a bike will become a habit that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Since installing its first on-street, protected bicycle lanes in 2007, New York City’s five-borough bike network has grown to more than 1,300 miles, including nearly 300 in Manhattan’s 23 square mile footprint, alone. “The combination of well-connected bicycle infrastructure, dense bike share stations and supportive land development help drive high ridership in the city,” says Alana Morales, deputy press secretary of New York City’s Department of Transportation.

Since implementing the Citi Bike bike share program in 2013, with 6,000 bikes across 300 stations, New York City riders have taken 96 million trips with an average of more than 70,000 trips per day during the busiest times of year. The bike share system has since grown to more than 900 stations with 14,500 bikes.

During COVID-19, cycling numbers continue to rise for the Big Apple. “Bike share trips over the East River have increased 43% compared to pre-COVID-19 conditions,” Morales says. “Cycling is an important part of a resilient transportation system. It provides an alternative mode for getting around while still social distancing.” 

Since 2006, the percentage of people who bike to work in Seattle has increased by 22%, while the number of people driving to work fell 14%. 

Even more recently, Seattle has seen a bump in ridership numbers thanks to their Stay Healthy Streets initiative, which closed streets around the city to thru traffic, making it easier for residents to get outside, exercise and enjoy some fresh air while still keeping socially distant during COVID-19 lockdowns. Even as the city begins to reopen, Seattle has committed to making 20 miles of Stay Healthy Streets permanent. 

“Now, more than ever, we must continue to build a more connected city with strong bike infrastructure,” says Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. “Our Stay Healthy Streets have helped our City stay active during the COVID-19 crisis and augment our 196 miles of bike infrastructure. We will continue to make investments in a city of the future that has safe, reliable transportation choices.”

Topics

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