We’re making biking better in Michigan 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 March 2020, we helped pass a measure in Ingham County that will fund the creation and maintenance of a countywide system of recreational trails and adjacent parks — including along Lansing’s River Trail — and find new ways to connect and extend existing trailways throughout Greater Lansing and beyond. In August 2020, we helped pass a measure in Washtenaw County that will renew a $500,000 road and non-motorized transportation tax to fund the maintenance of Washtenaw roads, bike lanes and pathways.

Last year was another banner year for the creation of great places to ride a bike across the U.S. New bike infrastructure was fueled by funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which made billions in federal dollars available for bike projects, alongside billions of additional state and local funding measures supported by PeopleForBikes. 

As a result, Americans enjoyed hundreds of new places to ride in 2024. We collected some of the best bike projects built in the last year to celebrate how all kinds of communities are benefiting from safe, fun, and connected places to bike.

This project converted a one-way, high-speed arterial into a two-way street with protected bike lanes, including protected intersections. Reversing design decisions made in the 1960s urban renewal era, the project also eliminated highway-like slip lanes and improved pedestrian crossings. What was once a highway now feels like the neighborhood street that it is. It also closes key gaps in the city’s growing network of protected bikeways, linking to existing facilities on Negley Avenue, Centre Avenue, Broad Street, and East Liberty Boulevard. 

Clark Street Protected Bike Lane | Chicago IL

PHOTO CREDIT: John Greenfield/Streetsblog Chicago
Clark Street is the southbound twin to the northbound bikeway on adjacent Dearborn Street, connecting Oak Street to Grand Avenue in central Chicago just north of the Loop. It’s already one of the city’s most popular bikeways. Beyond Clark Street, Chicago installed a total of 47 miles of new bike facilities across the city, including 31 miles of low-stress, protected bike lanes and neighborhood greenways. 

PHOTO CREDIT: San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

San Diego’s new Pershing Bikeway connects the diverse North Park neighborhood to bike lanes near downtown through Balboa Park. The 2.3-mile project combines a two-way protected bike lane, a separate bike path, and one-way protected bike lanes to provide safe and comfortable bike routes for people of all ages and abilities. Key elements include a 75-foot bridge over Florida Canyon Creek, a new roundabout at a formerly dangerous intersection, and five new pedestrian intersections equipped with 70 path lights to improve visibility. 

Named in honor of boxing legend Joe Louis, the Joe Louis Greenway is a planned 28-mile loop around central Detroit. Hailed for the revitalization and economic development it will bring, the trail connects 23 neighborhoods within Detroit as well as the cities of Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Highland Park. In 2024, residents celebrated the opening of the section between W. Warren Avenue and Joy Road. Just a short mile, this segment includes the Warren Gateway Trailhead and several spurs into surrounding neighborhoods, carrying on the trail’s critical role in connecting the local community.

Napa Valley Vine Trail | Calistoga-St. Helena, CA

PHOTO CREDIT: Rails to Trails Conservancy

Officials cut the ribbon on a new 9-mile section of the Napa Valley Vine Trail in August. Residents and visitors can now travel between the small towns of Calistoga and St. Helena in the Napa Valley on a gorgeous new bike path alongside vineyards. Twenty nine of the 47 miles are now complete, and the other sections are in the final design stage. 

Many cities are seeing the value of integrating low-volume, low-speed neighborhood streets into their bikeway networks. In Bloomington, Indiana, city planners are emphasizing the community benefits of slow streets by converting streets into “neighborhood greenways.” Every year, the city funds the conversion of at least three streets into greenways and works with residents to determine design details. 

As more people see the success of Bloomington and other cities creating neighborhood greenways that serve as a bikeway network, they will want to copy that success in their own communities. In 2024, PeopleForBikes awarded two grants to develop a model for greenway advocacy and a guide to encourage and support city leaders and advocates to develop them. 

This dedicated bikeway uses a former railroad right-of-way to connect Philippine Sea Road in ‘Ewa to Waipahu Depot Street. After the construction of retaining walls, utility relocation, and the reconstruction of bridges at Waikele Stream and Kapakahi Stream, the Leeward Bikeway extends the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail, creating an 11-mile route from ʻAiea Bay State Recreation Area to the Hawaiian Railway Society in ‘Ewa Beach. After just a few more gap closures, people will be able to ride on a 24-mile car-free bikeway from the eastern suburbs of Honolulu all the way to Diamond Head, connecting with the airport, downtown, Waikiki, and more.

The Moosup Valley State Park Trail | Connecticut

The Moosup Valley State Park Trail opened six miles of trail from the town of Moosup to Rhode Island. The trail spans 62 acres of wetlands, rivers, ponds and natural beauty, hugging the Moosup River until it connects with the Trestle Trail in Rhode Island. Each segment is a part of the East Coast Greenway, a safe biking and walking route connecting 15 states and 450 cities and towns for 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida. 

Know of a great bike project planned for 2025 that should be on our radar for next year’s list? Make sure it’s included in our National Bike Project Tracker! To learn how to add planned projects to the list, check out our FAQ page.

Every year, PeopleForBikes advocates on behalf of the bike industry and bike riders across the country to support the construction of fun, safe, and connected places to ride that welcome more people to the joys of bicycling. 


From championing e-mobility lithium-ion battery safety, to mandating Complete Streets for improved road safety, to advancing the construction of bike infrastructure through climate legislation, PeopleForBikes successfully advocated for a multitude of policies at the state and local levels during the 2024 legislative session that will support bike businesses and riders of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds nationwide.

The safety of e-mobility lithium-ion batteries was a top priority for many states and communities across the U.S. this legislative session.

Following the guidance of PeopleForBikes and other industry experts, New York passed legislation to ensure the quality and safety of e-mobility products while maintaining accessibility to equitable transportation options. The legislation requires that e-bike and other e-mobility lithium-ion batteries be tested to standards that ensure the safety of the products the batteries power. It also enables the enforcement of products that do not meet these standards and contribute to unsafe conditions, including battery fires. 


Read more about this important legislation.

In June, the Chicago City Council committed to working with the bicycle industry and other stakeholders to amend a proposed battery safety ordinance to align with similar safety legislation in New York so individuals, retailers, and manufacturers can rely on consistent e-bike battery testing requirements across the country.

PeopleForBikes looks forward to continuing our work with states and municipalities across the country to promote uniform and effective battery testing regulations that ensure that e-bike batteries sold and used in the U.S. meet the highest safety standards.


PeopleForBikes recognizes the three-class system as the framework to categorize and regulate low-speed electric bicycles (e-bikes). Currently, 43 states officially recognize our model legislation. In 2024, Oregon and Rhode Island signed the three-class system into law. This system promotes a uniform definition of e-bikes across the country to mitigate confusion for riders, retailers, manufacturers, and regulators. 

PeopleForBikes will continue supporting the classification of electric bicycles as bicycles (not motorized vehicles) and will work with legislators to showcase the need for clear definitions and strong enforcement so that bicycles, and bicycling infrastructure, are protected. 


Out-of-Class Electric Vehicle Legislation 

Due to the constantly evolving range of electrically powered devices entering the marketplace and the growth of their use nationwide, PeopleForBikes led efforts to define products that exceed the speed and power limitations of the three-class system and federal law as out-of-class electric vehicles (OCEVs). 


Utah and Minnesota passed landmark OCEV legislation to promote safety and protect hard-won access for bicycles on state trails and paths. You can read more both here and here about why this legislation is so critical. 


PeopleForBikes will continue helping states and municipalities better define and enforce the difference between electric bicycles and overpowered, higher-speed, out-of-class electric vehicles (including electric dirt bikes) to protect the rights of bike riders across the country.

Cities and states nationwide continue to prioritize sustainable, equitable, and accessible forms of transportation through e-bike purchase incentives and rebate programs. This year, the Atlanta City Council approved a $1 million incentive for the purchase of e-bikes and the Bentonville City Council in Arkansas approved $2.25 million in grant funding for an e-bike rebate program.


With $20 million in funding approved in 2023, Portland City Council approved an implementation plan for the city’s e-bike incentive program set to launch in 2025. Michigan legislators also approved $2.95 million in funding for an e-bike purchase incentive program in their state budget to implement a statewide e-bike transportation incentive program. 

The 2024 legislative session included many recreation policy wins that PeopleForBikes helped secure to continue building momentum for eMTB access on natural surface trails. 

In Oregon and Colorado, PeopleForBikes supported the passage of recreational immunity bills that protect landowners from liability resulting from the use of their lands by other individuals for recreational purposes, including mountain biking.

The Tahoe National Forest prepared a Decision Notice/Finding of No Significant Impact (DN/FONSI) and final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Pines to Mines Trail Project. The project, totaling 72 miles of new, natural surface trails, will provide expanded recreation opportunities on National Forest System lands. It also authorizes the use of Class 1 electric mountain bikes (eMTBs) on all new and existing trails where traditional mountain bikes are already allowed within the project area.

A National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Environmental Assessment is also underway in the Tahoe National Forest, utilizing a forest-wide approach. This first-of-its-kind approach could yield historic results that allow entire forest districts to allow Class 1 eMTBs on natural surface trails, as opposed to laws differing by individual trail systems. 


Look out for more recreation and eMTB policy wins as we continue engagement with state and local land managers to open access for Class 1 eMTBs on multi-use singletrack trails in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, and Utah. Additionally, PeopleForBikes is working on recreational trail access for mountain biking within the implementation of the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule. 


A lack of safe places to ride is one of the most significant barriers preventing Americans from biking. Dedicated funding streams for the construction of bike infrastructure creates more safe and connected places to bike, which in turn increases bicycling participation. The construction of bike infrastructure also contributes to other co-benefits, including positive public health outcomes, economic vitality, reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and transportation equity.  


As of July, PeopleForBikes has helped secure nearly $1.5 billion for the construction of bike infrastructure that increases safe places to ride bikes through our 2024 VoteForBikes campaign. With a potential $2 billion more on the November general election ballot, 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for bike infrastructure funding. Stay tuned for our post-election VoteForBikes recap to see how much funding PeopleForBikes helped secure for local communities across the country! 


In addition to our work advocating for bikes at the ballot box, PeopleForBikes supported additional legislation to fund bike infrastructure, including Minnesota’s Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund that invests more than $11 million in the expansion and enhancement of recreational trails, active transportation infrastructure, and mountain bike access across the state. 


Passing dedicated funding streams for bikes and bike infrastructure at the state and local levels is the most important policy priority for PeopleForBikes. We will continue paving the way for the construction of infrastructure that allows more people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds across the country to safely and efficiently travel around their communities and access more opportunities to ride a bike.


PeopleForBikes continues to advocate for legislation that reduces serious injuries, saves lives, and allows people to travel safely throughout their community with confidence. Reducing speed limits and actual vehicle speeds is one of the most effective ways to improve road safety and save lives.

After four years of hard work, PeopleForBikes was honored to support local advocates in New York as Governor Kathy Hochul signed Sammy’s Law into law in May. The new law allows New York City to implement a 20 mile per hour speed limit with additional 10 and 15 mile per hour zones. This legislation will dramatically increase safety for people walking and biking on roads with a high volume of motor vehicles. 


Michigan and Virginia also passed legislation that makes it easier for local municipalities to lower speed limits that are appropriate for the context and needs of those communities. 

We know that in addition to lower speed limits, safer road designs reduce motor vehicle speeds, one of the most significant causes of serious injuries and deaths on roads. As a result, Complete Streets mandates — which require the construction of bike infrastructure when roads are reconstructed or repaved — are one of the most effective policies communities can implement for improved road safety. Complete Streets also close gaps in transportation networks and enable all road users, regardless of their mode of transportation, to easily access places that they need to go. PeopleForBikes will continue to fight for legislation that mandates Complete Streets to promote safe and thriving communities. 

In March, voters in Los Angeles, California, one of the nation’s most car-centric cities, approved Measure HLA. This requires the implementation of the city’s Mobility Plan, including bike and pedestrian infrastructure when road construction or repaving occurs. PeopleForBikes endorsed this measure to increase transportation opportunities and accessibility, improve road safety, promote health, and reduce transportation-related GHG emissions. 


As part of historic legislation, Minnesota also strengthened the state’s Complete Streets policy by adding PeopleForBikes-supported amendments that require the integration of Complete Streets design principles and offer implementation guidance.

Advancing Bike Infrastructure Through Climate Legislation 

There is significant momentum across the country to fund active transportation infrastructure through climate legislation in order to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and GHG emissions. Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed an executive order establishing annual GHG and VMT reduction targets for his state’s transportation sector, requiring the Maryland Department of Transportation to implement a process for evaluating and reducing GHG emissions attributable to transportation projects, and investing in projects that reduce VMT and enhance transportation choices. 

Looking ahead to the 2025 legislative session, PeopleForBikes is actively involved in several local coalitions supporting climate legislation to curb transportation-related GHG emissions. Stay tuned for more bike infrastructure and climate legislation wins next year! 

There is already huge momentum for bikes and 2024 is not finished yet! At all levels of government and at the ballot box, PeopleForBikes is championing policies that create safer and more connected places to ride alongside supporting legislation that maintains safe, reliable, and quality products to get more people on bikes more often. 


You can help us achieve even more! By making a donation to PeopleForBikes, we can make an even greater impact in communities like yours all across the country. You can also sign up to receive our advocacy alerts to learn how you can support similar policy wins where you live.

PeopleForBikes’ 2024 Policy Wins Advance Bicycling Safety and Access Nationwide

Photo Credit: Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau

PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings is a data-driven program to identify, evaluate, and compare the best cities and towns for bicycling in the U.S. and across the world. Based on data from PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), each city receives a City Ratings score on a scale of 0-100. 

High-scoring cities often perform well across six factors captured in the acronym SPRINT: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space for biking and walking, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data.


For 2024, we ranked more than 2,500 cities worldwide, including 816 new U.S. cities and 133 new cities across the U.K. and Australia.

Medium Cities (50,000-300,000 population)

Photo Credit: Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority

PeopleForBikes’ 2024 City Ratings feature comprehensive rankings for more than 2,500 cities from across the world on the quality of their bike networks. With seven years of City Ratings results, we’ve tracked the progress of cities nationwide on improving bicycling in their communities. This year, we’re proud to celebrate Cities on the Rise, all of which improved their City Ratings scores in recent years thanks to investments in making their streets safe, fun, and connected places to ride. 


Three of our 2024 Cities on the Rise share a common trait outside of their dedication to better biking — they’re all Midwest college towns. Ames, Iowa, increased its City Ratings score from 40 (out of a possible 100) in 2020 to 66 in 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, improved its score from 50 in 2020 to 58 in 2024; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, rose from a score of 40 in 2020 to a score of 46 in 2024.


Public input plays a significant role in the planning and improvement of Ames' bike network. Photo Credit: Toole Design

Home of Iowa State University, nearly half of Ames’ population is college students, with an enrollment of 30,177 in fall of 2023. With such a large non-driving population, Ames wants to make sure everyone has safe options for getting around.

“From a planning and zoning perspective, our housing, services, and other facilities are heavily driven by the student population,” says Damion Pregitzer, traffic engineer for the City of Ames. “For a lot of trips during the week, students are walking or biking from where they live to class and other destinations.”


In response to the need for safe biking routes, Ames’ recent five-year Capital Improvements Plan includes a significant chunk of funding for bike projects, with an average of at least $1.3 million allocated to bike infrastructure improvements each year. Ames is also lucky enough to be considered a metropolitan area in Iowa, giving city officials access to better transportation planning tools to evaluate street stress levels and direct funding to areas most in need of investment. 


“As a university town, we’ve always supported new technologies,” Pregitzer says. “All of our signalized intersections have advanced bike and ped detection. There’s no intersection in town that cannot be activated by a pedestrian or bike.”


When it comes to what lessons Ames can offer other cities looking to improve, Pregitzer says slow and steady wins the race.

“The big thing is trying to make steady progress. Other communities in Iowa have tried to do one big flashy project that costs a lot of money, but that’s not what makes the change,” he says. “Look where your gaps are in your network and prioritize them. Find that unmet need where folks can/should bike and walk and put in the infrastructure where it benefits people the most.”

Wisconsin’s capital city is also home to the state’s largest university, with more than 48,000 students attending University of Wisconsin Madison. Sandwiched between two large lakes, there are only a few ways to get in and out of the downtown city core, an issue that bikes can play a key role in solving.

“Decades ago, the city decided there wouldn’t be a freeway into the city center. More recently, the city said publicly what everyone already knew — you cannot have everyone drive into the city center, so you have to prioritize other transportation,” says Robbie Webber, who serves on the board of directors for Madison Bikes, a local bike advocacy group. “With a huge number of people trying to access a small amount of space squeezed between two lakes, you have to find ways to move people around.”

When it comes to the great work Madison has done to improve biking in recent years, Webber points to the dedication of city leadership in championing the power of bikes.


“There have been a lot of infrastructure projects, but one of the big changes that took place was in 2019 when we elected our new mayor who believes in prioritizing transportation other than driving. We also hired a transportation director who is a year-round bike commuter and understands personally what is needed to make the city bike friendly,” Webber says. “A lot of our city staff are on their bikes every day, and you can’t get that knowledge just from talking to people. You have to live it.”


As a city alder, Webber also says the voices and opinions of community members play a big role in moving bike initiatives forward. She points out that too often, the only people coming to local meetings are those against a certain project, and that Bike Madison has put a lot of effort into getting those in favor of pro-bike projects to attend meetings and make their support known.


“You never know when your words or actions are going to inspire someone else,” she says. “You could be at a neighborhood meeting saying, ‘I bike to work, and this new bike lane is important to me.’ That could push someone else to say ‘Hey, I care too!’”


In response to one of the most common arguments against the installation of bike infrastructure — Why would we install a bike lane here? No one bikes on this street! — Webber offers up some delightfully cheeky words of wisdom, “Well, you don’t decide where to put in a community swimming pool by seeing where people are showing up with swimsuits.”


For other local advocates looking to make a difference in their communities, Webber says you can’t be afraid to speak up — communicate how people can get involved and make their voices heard.

Despite a strong local bike culture, there was not a single protected bike lane on the streets of Ann Arbor five years ago. Following the success of a two-way protected bike lane installed on William Street in the fall of 2019, the city recognized the real potential of giving people more options to move around outside of getting in the car and began building out its bike network.

Today, miles of protected bike lanes and countless gallons of green paint later, Ann Arbor is seeing its hard work pay off. 

“I’ve been able to utilize Ann Arbor’s new bikeways to get to and from school,” says Amy Boeving, a recent high school graduate who will be attending the University of Michigan later this year. “I feel really comfortable biking in Ann Arbor, thanks to the visibility with green paint, bollards, and two-way bike lanes, it’s become really easy to navigate.”

“There’s been a groundswell of local enthusiasm for bicycling,” adds Doug French, who does communications work for the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, a local advocacy group. “There’s a lot of momentum and people caring about making the city more bike friendly.”


With the development of a citywide transportation plan — Ann Arbor Moving Together Towards Vision Zero — Nate Phipps, a co-founder of the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, says the expansion of Ann Arbor’s bike network has included a lot of thoughtful decision making.

“The creation of new bike lanes is not coincidental. If even one block of your commute feels dangerous, you’re not going to bike,” Phipps says, noting the importance of filling in network gaps to make sure everyone feels comfortable moving around by bike. “We are really focused on the continuity and connectivity of our bike lanes.”


Like many cities across the Midwest, Ann Arbor certainly isn’t known for what most people would consider ideal “biking weather” during the winter months. But that doesn’t stop locals from continuing to get on their bikes 12 months out of the year.

“You don’t need good weather to have a good bike community,” says Suzette Wanninkhof, an organizer of Ann Arbor’s Bike Party, which has been bringing cycling enthusiasts together for community group rides for the last 10 years. “We even hold a ‘Worst Day of the Year Ride’ every January. There’s so much you can do to keep the fun going all year long.”

These Midwest College Towns Are Making Big Strides for Better Biking

PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings includes 816 new U.S. cities for 2024, 708 of which are home to less than 50,000 residents. While these newcomers may not have the populations of some of our other great places to bike like Minneapolis and Seattle, there is still plenty to celebrate and learn from small cities across the U.S.

The top 10 small cities in this year’s ratings scored an average of 89 out of a possible 100, showing that great places to bike come in all shapes and sizes. We collected a few of our favorite new small cities in this year’s rankings stretching from North Carolina to Alaska.

Located near Zion National Park in southwest Utah, there is one main road running through the town of Springdale, State Route 9, with sections of a nice bike path running alongside it. Thanks to a $10.8 million grant approved by the Utah Department of Transportation, an 18-mile paved trail will soon run from the city of St. George through Springdale all the way to the entrance of Zion National Park, giving local residents and outdoor recreationists from across the country a safe and accessible route to travel to the park without having to get in the car.

The small coastal community of Emerald Isle along North Carolina’s Crystal Coast has an 11-mile bike path that stretches nearly the entire length of Bouges Bank Island called the Emerald Path. The city hosts an annual bike ride called Bike the Banks, with the shortest race option taking place entirely on the bike path.

The community of Valdez supports a growing theme of Alaskan cities punching above their weight in our City Ratings. Viewing city score averages by state, Alaska is the highest scoring state for 2024 with an average population-weighted city score of 59 out of 100. The town sits on the edge of a bay and the 6.5-mile DOT Valdez Bike Path connects the town center to the west side of the town, where the Shoup Bay Trail takes bicyclists out further along the bay and into the wilderness. There is also a multi-use path that connects Port Valdez on the other side of the bay to the DOT path into town. Valdez is home to excellent fat tire biking, where you can bike on frozen lakes with icebergs, and partake in the annual Fat Bike Bash.

Despite its name, Jersey Shore is an inland town along a river in central Pennsylvania, neither close to New Jersey nor the ocean. The town’s main bike infrastructure is the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a 62-mile trail that terminates in Jersey City. The Bald Eagle Valley Trail project is currently underway (tracked via our Great Bike Infrastructure Project), ending in Jersey Shore and connecting to the rail trail. The Bald Eagle Valley Trail is part of a much bigger effort for this region called the Susquehanna Valley Greenway, along the Susquehanna River in Appalachia. 

Situated between Los Angeles and Santa Barabara, Ojai is not as rural as the other cities on this list, but it is currently constructing a major bike path and safety project along one of its most dangerous roads, Maricopa Highway. The project is a great example of a dedicated effort to improve safety for people biking and walking because it takes a lot of work for small cities to marshall the kind of resources needed to complete a project of that size, with Ojai receiving competitive Active Transportation Program funding from the state. The city is also choosing to tackle one of its biggest connectivity barriers rather than go after easy, cheap, but less impactful projects. An existing regional trail, the Ojai Valley Trail, runs 15 miles from the coastal city of Ventura into the town center of Ojai, allowing residents and visitors to bike from the town to the beach.

This small historic island located off the northern tip of Michigan’s mitten is our #1 ranked city in this year’s City Ratings. Mackinac Island received an impressive score of 99 out of a possible 100 and for good reason — the town banned motor vehicles in 1898. While the island itself is only 3.8 square miles in size, 80% of Mackinac is a state park and is home to more than 70 miles of trails to explore, including an 8.2-mile coastal trail that circumnavigates the perimeter of the island. Mackinac Island’s lack of vehicular traffic and 19th-century charm have made the small Michigan town a major national tourism destination, with the year-round population of around 600 welcoming nearly 1 million visitors each year.

Since 2018, PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings program has identified, analyzed, and compared the best cities and towns for bicycling in the U.S. and abroad. For 2024, we scored 2,300 cities across the U.S. and nearly 200 cities throughout the U.K, Australia, and Europe.

This year’s City Ratings feature 816 new U.S. cities, including a brand new #1 city for bicycling — Mackinac Island, Michigan.


A small historic island located in Lake Huron off the coast of northern Michigan, Mackinac Island is perhaps best known for one of the main reasons it scored so well in our City Ratings — no motorized vehicles are allowed. The ban was originally enacted in 1898 after residents complained that the arrival of the new “horseless carriages” were dangerous and scared their horses. Today, the ban is still in place, and residents and visitors of the island travel by foot, bike, or horse-drawn carriage.


“The no vehicle aspect is really nice. You don’t have to worry about traffic,” jokes Steph Castelein, who works as the content manager for the island’s tourism bureau. “A lot of people don’t leave the downtown area, but there’s so much to explore. People have been coming back for years and are always finding something new.”


While the island itself is only 3.8 square miles in size, 80% of Mackinac is a state park and is home to more than 70 miles of trails to explore, including an 8.2-mile coastal trail that circumnavigates the perimeter of the island.

Mackinac Island’s lack of vehicular traffic and 19th-century charm have made the small Michigan town a major national tourism destination, with the year-round population of around 600 welcoming nearly 1 million visitors each year. Earlier this year, Mackinac took home the #1 spot on USA Today’s list of the best summer travel destinations in the U.S. for the second year in a row.


While not every city may be fortunate enough to have more than 125 years of car-free streets to its name, there are still valuable lessons to be learned from the small island off the tip of Michigan’s mitten.


“It’s interesting, for those that live here full-time, it’s just the way it is. We don’t have to think about it,” says Castelein. “We ride our bikes to get our groceries home, our kids get to school on bikes — it’s become so normal to use bikes for transportation.”

Creating a culture of biking doesn’t happen overnight, but with the proper dedicated efforts investing in infrastructure and enacting policies that make choosing to go by bike an easy, safe, and accessible option, you’d be surprised how quickly people will leave the car at home and opt for the joys and conveniences of riding a bike. 


Want to support bike infrastructure and policies that can help transform your community into a great place to ride a bike? See how your city scored in this year’s City Ratings and explore our Great Bike Infrastructure Project to find a project that needs help in your backyard.

This Michigan Tourist Destination is the Best Place to Bike in the U.S.

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. 

On December 12, the PeopleForBikes Coalition Board of Directors approved our 2023 Industry Community Grants recipients, totaling $100,000 in funding across 13 grants. The grants will help fund projects that support our focus on building infrastructure that makes communities great places to ride a bike. The projects include several pump tracks, efforts to build safe routes to schools, demonstration projects to promote the importance of protected bike lanes, innovative solutions to combat bike theft in college towns, and mountain bike parks in flat urban areas.

2023 PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grants

Delmont, PA | Trail construction and intersection improvements for a connection to the Westmoreland Heritage Rail Trail. Our funds leverage an additional $18,000 to build a new and vital bikeway for residents and visitors in Delmont.

Sandersville, GA | Funding to construct the first 3 miles of a 250-mile trail system in Georgia, leveraging $6 million in other funding.

Los Angeles, CA | One in a series of “CicLAminis,” a neighborhood-focused open streets event celebrating new neighborhood bike infrastructure. This grant will highlight the specific trail extensions and protected bikeways that improve bicycling locally. 

Ann Arbor, MI | Demonstration project to install and evaluate permeable surfaces on a segment of the Treeline-Allen Creek Urban Trail to create a safe and accessible bike path through a floodplain.

Durango, CO | Demonstration projects of fully protected bike lanes on key portions of a proposed citywide network of low-stress bikeways.   

Saint Johns, AZ | A collaboration with the Legacy Teen Center to build a new pump track that will help launch the Legacy Bike Club. 

Jersey City, NJ | Demonstration project to install and evaluate protected bike lanes in Jersey City to leverage $670,590 in state funding for permanent construction.

Clear Creek Off-Road Bike Association — $7,650

Pearland, TX | Initial construction costs for an innovative mountain bike trail system in an urban park, using shipping containers to create hills in an otherwise flat, low-income neighborhood.  

Providence, RI | Community rides and organizing to win community support for protected bike lanes in low-income communities and leverage $28 million in federal grants.

Tempe, AZ | A "bike bus" to highlight the need for infrastructure that’s safe for children to enjoy on a bicycle and support its construction.

Eugene, OR | An innovative solution to prevent bike theft with a strategy to expand the use of public funding and provide an example for other college towns where bike theft prevents people from relying on a bike for transportation.

St. Louis, MO | Support for the construction of a quick-build protected bike lane on Compton Avenue, a key connection to existing bike boulevard projects in the citywide network.

Kearns, UT | An upgrade to the Lodestar XC Bike Park to enhance the trails and add skills features including adaptive features. Open to the public, the park provides the only training opportunities for students from six high school mountain bike teams.  

PeopleForBikes' Industry Community Grants Program provides funding for projects that make bicycling better in communities across the U.S. Since 1999, PeopleForBikes has awarded more than 400 grants to nonprofit organizations and local governments in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Our investments total more than $3.5 million and have leveraged $775 million in public and private funding for bike-related projects nationwide.

PeopleForBikes' 2023 Industry Community Grants Recipients

These four U.S. cities, all with populations under 50,000 people, scored well in the 2021 City Ratings. Here’s what they’re doing right.

Small cities have an inherent advantage when it comes to bicycling — since they tend to have smaller road networks, changes to a few key streets can really make a difference when it comes to bicycling. On average, the top small cities (those with populations of 50,000 or fewer) score higher in the 2021 City Ratings than the top medium and large cities. Independent of a city's efforts to build great bike infrastructure, there are a few possible explanations for this scoring trend.

First, many of the smaller cities and towns in the 2021 City Ratings tend to have smaller boundaries than we might think. We often envision a small city as extending into the land surrounding it, while in reality, its borders might not encompass much beyond a few main streets. Our 2021 City Ratings are based on our Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), which only evaluates trips that start within the city boundary. Thus, if your home falls outside the city limits and it’s difficult to bike downtown, that wouldn’t impact your city's score. Inaccurate or missing data in OpenStreetMap will also have a larger impact on a small city's network score, with poor data sometimes improving a city's score. 

Moreover, small cities, especially more rural ones, often consist of a traditional downtown street grid, a few main connecting streets and one or two roads that lead out of town. If speed limits are low, the downtown grid becomes largely low stress, offering multiple routes to reach the same destination. The flip side is that if there’s only one high-stress road to your destination, it can be impossible to bike there using only low-stress routes.

Although the four small cities below definitely benefit from their size, we’ve chosen to highlight them for reasons that go beyond breadth. While completely different in terms of geography, culture and approach, they're all doing something right when it comes to bicycling.

“You hear a lot of people talking about the 15-minute city,” said Rik Ahlberg, chair of the Provincetown Bicycle Committee and owner of Pedal Ptown Bike Tours. “Well, this is the five-minute town. I can get from one end to the other in seven minutes on my bicycle.”

Located on the northern tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown has a year-round population of 3,000 people and five bike shops. Bicycles were introduced to Provincetown in the late 1800s — the first bike path was proposed in 1899 — and they’ve been a primary mode of transportation ever since. Today, residents are able to access all essential services, from the grocery store to the dentist, within a two-mile bike ride. 

“There’s virtually no corner you can stand on in Provincetown and not see a bike rack somewhere,” said Ahlberg, noting that there’s even waterfront bike parking at the beach. “Our bike racks were old and not attractive, so we invested in upgrading them all to the APBP [Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professional] standards.” 

Commercial Street, Provincetown’s main drag, is one way for cars but two way for bicycles. Almost every other street is small, forcing drivers to go slow, creating naturally low-stress bikeways. It also helps that development is dense in Provincetown and no highways bisect it. In the summer months, Provincetown’s population balloons to nearly 60,000 people, and although many people arrive by car, they also bring their bikes.

“Bikes also aren’t tied to economic status here,” said Ahlberg, noting that Provincetown has one of the best year-round commuter rates, as high as 20% by some counts. “Across the board, people ride bikes just because it’s convenient.”

This year, we featured Provincetown in our Advocacy Academy series, “Lessons from the Best Biking Cities.” Watch to learn more about how the town has embraced and encouraged bicycling, engaged its community and invested in low-stress, complete streets.

Traverse City, located in the northwest part of Michigan’s mitten and bordering Lake Michigan, has a population of roughly 15,000 people. With a total area of 8.66 square miles, the small city is flat and laid out on a grid, making it easy to navigate by bike for folks of all ages and abilities. There’s also a strong history of recreational mountain biking, which helped lay the foundation for in-town bike culture.

“Most of the biking in Traverse City really started off as recreation and we have a lot of very large areas of mountain bike trails right around downtown,” said Shawn Winter, planning director for the city. “Within five minutes you can be in the woods — everything is just compact and accessible.”

Although recreational riding helped jumpstart the bike culture in Traverse City, Winter attributes the larger shift to different organizations that have come together and advocated for change over the years. Nonprofit TART Trails, for example, maintains a network of multi-use trails, 5.4 miles of which are in Traverse City proper, and has been hosting a bike commuter event for 27 years. Likewise, Norte, a bike-centric, youth-focused advocacy organization, has been instrumental in achieving a 473% increase in participation in kids actively transporting themselves in the Grand Traverse region. There are also three bike shops in town and regular workshops where residents can learn about things like winter biking.

“Winter is very real in Michigan — it’s a legitimate season that dominates most of the calendar,” said Winter, noting that people sometimes use it as an excuse for not investing in non-motorized infrastructure. “Traverse City does a great job of plowing the sidewalks and people have the gear to bike year-round. Winter really doesn't have the impact on bicycling that I think people assume it would.”

In the summer, tourists flock to Traverse City, taking part in Kayak, Bike & Brew tours and using the bike racks on BATA, the local transit system, to pedal trails further outside of town. According to Winter, Traverse City’s downtown, as well as most parks and beaches, are so popular that they’re actually more accessible by bike due to limited parking. The city’s main east-west corridor, 8th Street, was also redesigned to be more walkable and safe, with lowered speed limits and new bicycle tracks.

“When they redid the street, they added three mid-block crossings in that stretch and did a lot of streetscape improvements with landscaping design, lighting and benches,” said Winter, noting that there are now brand new multi-story buildings under construction in a once bleak stretch. “It's a great example of how public investment can be a catalyst for additional private investment.”

Pella is a small midwestern town of around 10,300 people, home to Central College and famous for its Dutch roots. The tourist town, which covers just 8.73 square miles, celebrates that history with a fully functional 1850s-style windmill, an annual tulip festival and a downtown canal. Like the Netherlands, Pella is also a great place to bike — although it could do more to embrace that aspect of its heritage.

“It’s a small, grid town that’s just easy to get around in,” said Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. “Pella also has a pretty substantial trail system leading out of town.”

That trail, the Volksweg Trail, is a 17-mile asphalt path that extends from town to Lake Red Rock, Iowa’s largest lake. Aside from the miles connecting the trail to town though, Pella hasn’t invested in the infrastructure that might set it apart as a bicycling destination. Chris Van Gent, who owns the sole bike shop in town — Iowa Bike Co. — believes relatively inexpensive investments like wayfinding signs, sharrows and crucially, more much-needed bike parking, would help boost ridership.

“Protected bike lanes don’t really make sense here,” said Van Gent, adding that the bike “advertising” that comes with some of the low-cost fixes does. “People would bike more and shop more if there was bike parking.”

In 2018, Pella launched a bike share system in partnership with VeoRide, which despite being profitable and working well, was pulled by the national micromobility company in 2020. In large part, Pella scores well because the town has grown around its downtown core and is evenly dispersed with clusters of essential services, retail shops and residences. Unlike many other small towns in rural America, Pella’s main street is also distinct from the highway, leaving a series of connected, low-stress streets intact. 

Iowa is also home to RAGBRAI, Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, an epic seven-day bicycling adventure that changes routes every year. The longest, largest and oldest bicycle touring event in the world, it’s an Iowa institution that has a real effect on the whole state. For many, the race is the reason people start biking in the first place.

“It can be a real financial generator, with 20,000-plus bicyclists rolling through,” said Wyatt. “It’s created this opportunity for rural Iowa to see bicycling as an economic generator.”

Pella is blessed with a setup that naturally makes it a great place for riding bikes. With some smart investments and political willpower, it could easily become a true bike town, thriving economically and benefitting from safer streets in the process.

With a population of 47,302, San Luis Obispo, or SLO, is the largest city on this list. Located in California’s Central Coast region, the city is just under 13 square miles. Its relatively small size coupled with the temperate climate makes SLO a great place to bicycle, whether you're going to work, recreating or running errands. Around town, you’re as likely to see a mountain biker as you are two kids on the back of their parent’s cargo bike.

“It’s a dynamic community and we have a major university in California Polytechnic State,” said Rick Ellison, executive director of Bike SLO County. “College towns bring a certain energy that’s good for the whole bicycling community.”

The city is also phenomenally progressive when it comes to roadway safety, consistently improving bike lanes, planning for a safe, complete network and promoting bikes as a way to address climate change. 

“The city recognizes that the key to getting more people on bikes is to have effective and safe infrastructure,” said Ellison, noting that greenways, neighborhood networks, bike lanes and traffic calming efforts all play into that vision. “Our leadership believes that San Luis Obispo can be the leader when it comes to climate action by making bikes part of the solution.”

Last year, SLO was featured in our Advocacy Academy series, “Lessons from the Best Biking Cities.” In the episode, we learn from SLO Active Transportation Manager Adam Fukushima about the city’s 75-mile-plus bike network and how climate action funds are allocated for bike improvements.

How does your city rank? Check out our 2021 City Ratings and learn how to improve your score.

Have you ever driven through somewhere on a road trip that you thought was unforgettably cool, only to get home and realize you don’t remember the name of the place, or even where it was? It’s difficult to remember such awesome places when you’re moving through them so fast, which is what makes sightseeing by bike the best! Sightseeing on a bike connects you with regions, towns and people in a way that simply isn’t possible with other forms of travel. So hop on your road bike, cruiser, or e-bike and explore these amazing sightseeing cities.

Ranking #7 overall in this year’s City Ratings is Aspen, Colorado. This little mountain town in the Roaring Fork Valley is full of mountain peaks and valley views and is well-known for its four winter sports resorts. Winter sports aren’t the only popular outdoor activities in Aspen, biking is too! Aspen encourages locals and visitors alike to get around on two wheels with its bike share program, We-Cycle. There are 15 stations and more than 100 bikes around town, so one is never away. The first 30 minutes of every We-Cycle fare is free to all riders and the service made Aspen the first-ever resort town to have an official bike share program.

Using a We-Cycle bike (or your own!), you can explore the energetic downtown and visit any one of the galleries, gift shops, or restaurants lining Aspen’s main drag. If you are seeking more adventure, consider biking Independence Pass or the Rio Grande Trail. As the state’s highest elevation pass, Independence Pass is a favorite route for cyclists craving a breath of fresh air. At a sweeping 12,095 feet, riding Indy Pass is one of Aspen’s most sought-after cycling achievements for its breathtaking views and incredible landscapes. The Rio Grande Trail is 42 miles of continuous paved trail protected from vehicle traffic from Aspen to Glenwood Springs and is suitable for all ages and skill levels. Any ride throughout Aspen is sure to provide you with beautiful views of the expansive forests, the Maroon Bells, and the entire Roaring Fork Valley.

You may want to switch out your road bike for a beach cruiser when it comes to our next destination. Key West, Florida, is a biking paradise because of its small size, easy navigation and always-open bike parking. 20% of folks who live in Key West commute to work and just about everywhere else by bike. There are so many attractions to visit as if the views weren’t enough! Surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, you are never more than just a head-turn away from mesmerizing views of the turquoise blue water and white sand beaches.

If you’re looking for more sights, hop on one of the bike lanes to visit the southernmost point in the continental United States, working your way up to visit the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the Key West Lighthouse Museum and the Eco-Discovery Center. A must-stop on your list should be the Seven Mile Bridge that links points between the Florida Keys. If you want to go even further, consider completing the entire Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, a 106-mile, completely paved trail that stretches the majority of the Keys and is a suitable ride for anyone. The flat topography and 237 sunny days per year can almost guarantee that any ride you take in Key West is going to be a great one — just keep an eye on the weather and don't get caught in a notorious Florida thunderstorm!

San Francisco, California, is a lively melting pot of hippies, inner-city professionals, artists, and everyone in between. 14.8 million visitors flocked to the city in 2021, making it one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world. The city works hard to maintain its current 464 miles of bikeways, adding additional miles every year. Bicycles are the transportation of choice for locals and tourists alike, with more than 82,000 trips being made daily and travel by bicycle increasing 184% since 2006!

You can start your city tour off at one of the 280 bike share stations spread throughout the city. From there, you can bike to any amenities you may need in less than 15 minutes, then to the postcard-worthy destinations San Francisco is famous for! Buzzing past pedestrians on the bikeway, you can cruise down the steep and windy Lombard Street admiring the flower-filled gardens, stopping by the San Francisco Botanical Gardens to enjoy even more greenery. From there, make your way to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and cross the Golden Gate Bridge on two wheels. If you’re tired out from there, you can always take the ferry back across the bay. After all that riding you’re sure to be hungry, so head over to Valencia Street to grab a bite to eat at one of the many vibrant restaurants. After the day is over, you can head out to experience the city’s nightlife or relax while watching the sunset over the Golden City. San Francisco is for everyone, especially bikers.

Arlington, Virginia, is next on our list! Known for its treasured national monuments and memorials, Arlington has so much more to offer that can only be experienced by using the 49 miles of paved paths woven throughout the city. After grabbing a bike from the local bike share, consider taking the Arlington Loop, a 16-mile bikeway that will bring you past some of the most famed attractions in Arlington. Cruise past attractions like the Arlington House, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, and the Arlington National Cemetery. The Arlington National Cemetery is a must-visit place as it is the resting place of more than 400,000 servicemen and hosts regular graveside services and memorial events.

People for Bikes

Michigan

Become a Member

Discover an Electric Bike Ride Near You

Learn What's Happening in the World of Biking

Use the Ride Spot App to access great rides

NW Grand Rapids Tour

Distance: 6.5 miles

GVSU - Recreation and Wellness

Reed's Lake Cyclocross Loop

Distance: 10 Miles

Alger Bikes

Waterloo G&G

Distance: 10 Miles

Fraser Bicycle - Ann Arbor

PeopleForBikes Work in Michigan

News

2024’s Best New U.S. Bikeways

PeopleForBikes’ 2024 Policy Wins Advance Bicycling Safety and Access Nationwide

2024’s Best Places to Bike

These Midwest College Towns Are Making Big Strides for Better Biking

Great Biking Isn’t Just for Big Cities

This Michigan Tourist Destination is the Best Place to Bike in the U.S.

The Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2023

PeopleForBikes' 2023 Industry Community Grants Recipients

The Secrets of Small Town Bicycling

The Best Places for Sightseeing by Bike

How to Build Big Cities for Biking

Our Top Vacation Spots for Biking

A Bicycle Garden Grows in Michigan

Exciting New Mountain Biking Trails Opened in 2022

Introducing Our Spring 2021 Community Grants Recipients

America’s Best Places for Bikes: Our New System Rates 480 U.S. Cities

Meet 5 Grantees Out to Transform Bike Share

America's Best New Bikeways of 2020

A Dozen (Plus One) Bucket List Rides for 2019

A Dozen Bucket List Bike Rides for 2018

People for Bikes