As we look ahead to the 2028 Olympics, PeopleForBikes is taking advantage of a unique opportunity to transform Los Angeles into a great place to ride a bike. Our approach involves capitalizing on the attention generated by the Olympics to expedite permanent improvements across the city alongside a more localized focus on Council District 1, whose newly elected leader looks to create an ambitious network of neighborhood bikeways.

A Countywide Vision for a Multimodal Olympics

The 2028 Olympics provide a historic opportunity to overhaul Los Angeles’ transportation system. With nearly 15,000 athletes participating in the Games and millions of international visitors expected to attend, organizers hope to use the Olympics to redefine Los Angeles as a multimodal city and plan to invest in alternative transportation to make that vision a reality. The goal is to create a new reputation for the city and avoid the traffic problems that plagued the 1932 and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Looking beyond 2028, PeopleForBikes is working to leverage the investment in this one-time event to create permanent, long-term improvements through infrastructure and programming.

Central to the proposed infrastructural changes is the Festival Trail, currently envisioned as a multimodal corridor stretching more than 40 miles across the city reaching key venues and transit hubs. The Festival Trail will connect low-stress bikeways, beautiful walking trails, and efficient bus rapid transit service to enable safe and accessible car-free mobility across Los Angeles. Working alongside local advocacy group Move LA and coordinating with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, PeopleForBikes is pushing to create safe and connected bike paths throughout this corridor and beyond.

The Los Angeles Festival Trail will connect almost every Olympic venue via multimodal trail, providing visitors with a car-free way to navigate the Games. PHOTO: MoveLA 

We are also advocating for the development of an additional bike path connecting the Festival Trail to the Los Angeles River. Through our investment and a partnership with Move LA and BikeLA, we are confident the new path will be built in time for spectators to enjoy a glorious 22-mile bike ride from the swimming venues in Inglewood to the beach venues at Long Beach, demonstrating just how bikeable LA can be for visitors and residents alike.


Other infrastructure improvements PeopleForBikes is advocating for include the development of mobility hubs located at major transit stations expected to handle the bulk of olympic traffic. These hubs will feature bike repair stations, plenty of high-quality bike parking, and numerous bike share stations along with other mobility services such as accommodations for people with disabilities and car share programs for people who don’t own a car. 

With vast areas of the city off-limits to delivery trucks for security reasons during the Olympics, PeopleForBikes is also championing the potential of cargo bikes for local deliveries. We are working with delivery companies and city officials to develop a bike-based delivery system that will meet the security needs of the Olympics while simultaneously establishing a sustainable, zero-emission delivery system that can be used well beyond 2028. 


In addition to critical infrastructure improvements, programming can also play a huge role in changing Angelenos’ view of their city from a car-dependent metropolis to a county of walkable and bikeable neighborhoods connected via convenient and affordable multimodal options. In the past, big events in Los Angeles resulted in massive traffic congestion, prompting many people to stay home and avoid the roads altogether. For the 2028 Summer Games, positive marketing showcasing easy and safe alternatives to driving can encourage residents to get out and enjoy their city without a car, providing what will be an unprecedented experience for many long-time locals and an opportunity to transform their daily mobility habits.  


Transforming Council District 1 With an Ambitious Bikeway Network

While we work toward countywide improvements ahead of 2028, we are also focused on driving local-level change in Council District 1 (CD1). Home to thousands of low-income residents who lack reliable access to automobiles, car parking, and even bike parking, the district is represented by newly elected Councilor Eunisses Hernandez, who has already shown tremendous support for bicycling and a desire to make up for previous disinvestment in creating safer streets.

Figueroa Street was improved with protected bike lanes last year by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, but the improvements stopped as the street entered CD1 due to opposition from the previous councilmember. With Councilor Hernandez in charge, PeopleForBikes is now working to extend these bike lanes into the district. PHOTO: DC Engineering

PeopleForBikes’ work in CD1 is part of our larger Great Bike Infrastructure Project, a nationwide effort to transform communities by developing safer and connected places to ride a bike. In CD1, we’re building a coalition of advocates to drive local support and ensure that our ambitious plans for a connected network of bikeways align with community needs and aspirations. We assembled a committee made up of leaders from groups including CicLAvia, BikeLA, and Los Angeles Walks who bring local expertise and community connections to the initiative. Together, we’re focused on identifying projects that will make the biggest impact and securing funding to make these projects a reality.

The infrastructure projects we’re supporting will transform the diverse neighborhoods that make up the district straddling the Los Angeles River from northeast Los Angeles to the densely populated neighborhoods adjacent to downtown, including Chinatown, Westlake, Pico Union, and parts of Koreatown. The proposals include protected bike lanes, low-speed shared streets, and bike paths. With the support of the Councilmember and donations from PeopleForBikes members, our plan is to invest in advocacy efforts necessary to win approval for these projects and turn this central part of Los Angeles into a great place to ride a bike. 

While Los Angeles has long been known as one of the most car-centric cities in the U.S., change is on the horizon. If Los Angeles can change for the better, that same change will be possible anywhere in the United States. This is why taking advantage of the Olympics and focused investment in central Los Angeles is so important. By working with local partners who share our vision of a more bikeable Los Angeles, we can develop best practices for success and show countless other cities across the country what’s possible with the proper tools and investment.


PeopleForBikes is hosting a launch party for our campaign to transform Council District 1 in spring 2025. Send an email to infrastructure@peopleforbikes.org if you are interested in being involved.

Building the Future of Biking in Los Angeles

Officials and advocates enjoy the new Pershing Bikeway on its opening day. PHOTO CREDIT: San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

More than 200 high-priority bike projects were constructed across the U.S. in the last year according to PeopleForBikes’ National Bike Project Tracker, a first-of-its-kind database as part of our Great Bike Infrastructure Project. 

With the goal of creating more safe, fun, and connected places to ride in communities nationwide, the Great Bike Infrastructure Project is fast-tracking thousands of bike projects in all 50 states. From protected bike lanes to multi-use paths to singletrack mountain bike trails, each project in our database features a basic description and project status — proposed or planned, approved but not funded, funded and ready for construction, or completed — alongside useful links for people to support local advocacy organizations and get projects across the finish line in their backyard.


As we enter the second year of the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, we’re celebrating a few of our favorite projects that were completed in the last 12 months along with the many benefits that bike projects can offer communities of all shapes and sizes. 

300 West is a critical north-south arterial road in Salt Lake City that previously wasn’t safe for biking. Local leaders took advantage of the need to repave the street to make much needed improvements, implementing Complete Streets strategies championed by the Great Bike Infrastructure Project. Using funding from the city’s “Funding Our Future” program, a local sales tax that can be a great funding source for creating better places to bike, the city constructed new crosswalks, planted trees for shade, and built a new 10-foot-wide bike path adjacent to the sidewalk so bike riders and pedestrians can both travel freely without conflict.  

San Diego’s new Pershing Bikeway connects the diverse North Park neighborhood to bike lanes near downtown through Balboa Park. The final 2.3-mile project includes a combined two-way protected bike lane connecting to a separate bike path which then connects to one-way protected bike lanes. The bikeway creates a more comfortable and convenient way for people of all ages and abilities to travel while providing an important link in San Diego’s growing connected bike network. 

Madison is expanding access to close-to-home recreation for thousands of local residents thanks to the recently completed singletrack trails through Sycamore Park. The 1.5-mile “adventure trail” features natural surfaces optimized for biking. Portions of the trail are covered in a natural stone chip seal surface while others are made up of native soil, wood, and stone. While communities on the west and south sides of Madison have access to many miles of singletrack, this new section of trail expands riding opportunities on the east side of the city, where trail access was previously scarce.


Is there a local bike project in your community that needs support? Explore our interactive map to identify projects in your area and let us know if we need to add a new project to our list. You can also explore our tools and resources to help advance more bike projects in your backyard. PeopleForBikes is committed to making sure every one of the more than 1,800 projects in our database is constructed to share the countless benefits of safe, fun, and connected places to ride with millions of people across the U.S.

Bike Projects Are Benefiting Communities Nationwide

In late July, PeopleForBikes unveiled our newest groundbreaking initiative: The Great Bike Infrastructure Project. This ambitious program will transform communities by advancing pro-bike policies and thousands of bike infrastructure projects in all 50 states, making biking safer and more accessible for everyone.

In the coming months, we’ll take a deeper dive into the specific projects and policies included in the Great Bike Infrastructure Project. For now, read on for a high-level overview of the program. 

At the heart of this new program is a national database featuring an interactive map and list of more than 1,000 bicycle infrastructure projects across the United States. The tool tracks crucial information including each project’s status, state and local advocacy organizations supporting the project, and links to learn more. This first-of-its-kind, easily accessible resource will help people learn about projects in their communities — like bike trails, shared-use paths, protected bike lanes, bike parks, and more — and help ensure they get funded and built. 

Local advocacy efforts are often required to advance these projects, and we encourage you to check out the projects in your area and contact the linked state and local advocacy organizations to learn how you can support getting those projects across the finish line. If you’d like to add a project to our database or correct the details of an existing project, please visit our FAQ page. 

Legislative Strategies for Bike Infrastructure

As part of the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, PeopleForBikes also created a Legislative Guide to assist policymakers and advocates in expanding bike infrastructure for transportation and recreation. As we work to make the U.S. the best place in the world to ride a bike, this comprehensive guide outlines the four most effective legislative approaches to accelerate the construction of safe and connected places to ride. 

The guide includes legislative examples from a variety of communities and states, with tips on adjusting policies to suit your own community’s needs. To help advance these policies in your community, we also included links to existing legislative language to use when crafting your own bills. 

While there is now an unprecedented amount of federal funding available for bike infrastructure, state and local funding are vital to propel more projects forward and provide the 20-50% local match required for most federal grants. Our guide offers examples of more than a dozen different state and local funding mechanisms for bike infrastructure ranging from Tax Increment Financing districts to sales tax revenue and everything in between.

One of the key strategies for advancing bike infrastructure is the implementation of Complete Streets mandates. Complete Streets ensure that all road users, including people walking, rolling, biking, and using transit, have safe and accessible ways to get where they want to go. Our guide provides examples of legislation that include strong and specific requirements for creating Complete Streets, limited exceptions, and clear roles and responsibilities to make Complete Streets mandates effective.

Advance Bike Infrastructure Through Climate Legislation

Our guide emphasizes how state and local climate legislation can facilitate the construction of bike projects. Including bike infrastructure in climate legislation can help reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately contributing to serious environmental and fiscal benefits for communities. Our guide highlights examples of climate legislation in Minnesota, Washington, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, with specific examples of the most effective pieces.

Making streets safer for people riding bikes is paramount to encouraging biking as a mode of transportation and recreation. The guide highlights several strategies for local communities and states to achieve safer streets by reducing traffic speeds, banning right turns on red, and adopting modern design standards. 

PeopleForBikes invites bike industry members, advocates, policymakers, and everyday riders to join us in creating more liveable communities by helping advance pro-bike legislation and bike infrastructure right in your backyard. Together, we can build a vibrant, healthier, and more sustainable future for all.

For more information about PeopleForBikes’ Great Bike Infrastructure Project, visit infrastructure.peopleforbikes.org.

Introducing the Great Bike Infrastructure Project

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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


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

2025 Cities on the Rise Candidates — Honorable Mentions


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


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


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

Last month, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released its 2023 Shared Micromobility Report, breaking down station-based bike share and dockless e-scooter and e-bike ridership in North America in 2023 while offering recommendations on how cities can plan for the long-term viability of their systems.


Surpassing the previous record set in 2019, more people took shared micromobility trips in 2023 than in any other year.


At 157 million, total shared micromobility (SMM) trips increased by 20% over 2022, far surpassing the 2019 peak of 147 million trips. In Canada, SMM trips increased by an impressive 40% with 24 million trips in 2023. In the U.S., 133 million trips were taken last year — up 16% from 2022.

Station-based bike usage continues to increase, driven by the growing popularity of e-bikes.

The U.S. saw a total of 61 million station-based bike share trips in 2023, up from 53 million in 2022. Station-based trips taken by electric bicycle (e-bike) increased from 20 million trips in 2022 to 28 million trips in 2023, a substantial 40% growth. E-bike trips represented 46% of all station-based bike share trips. 

Canada saw a total of 20 million trips on station-based bikes in 2023, compared to 15 million in 2022. Differing from the U.S., this growth was largely due to station-based traditional (non-electric) bike rides. Canadians took 15 million trips on traditional bikes in 2023, increasing by nearly 40% from 2022.

Prices are rising, making shared micromobility more expensive compared to other public transit options, highlighting the need for accessible pricing models for every rider.

Shared micromobility riders often bear the brunt of paying sales tax on their trip, unlike other forms of public transportation. While income-based discounts offer substantial savings to those living below the federal poverty level, with the cost of living increasing for all, shared micromobility is moving further and further out of reach for working and middle class families.

Thankfully, the popularity of more-affordable annual or monthly pass options has significantly increased in recent years. Since 2019, annual pass sales have increased by 20% or more in places like Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Toronto. 


Infrastructure that supports safe bike and scooter share riding leads to increased ridership. 

It’s proven through research and practice that the build-out of connected and safe bike infrastructure motivates people to ride more. Cities that invest in safe bike infrastructure see the greatest increase in shared micromobility ridership year after year. 


A study conducted in Hamilton, Ontario, showed that increases in bicycling were greatest on concrete-barrier-protected bike lanes and other protected infrastructure on arterial streets well connected to other protected biking routes.

Public funding is vital for keeping shared micromobility programs sustainable.

The existence of shared micromobility programs continues to be threatened by financial instability. Public funding, foundation support, and longer-term sponsorships are necessary for sustainable systems. 

In the last few years, systems across the country (including Nice Ride in Minneapolis, Houston BCycle, RedBike in Cincinnati, and This Machine in Tulsa) have shut down because of a lack of sustainable funding. With these closures, it’s becoming abundantly clear that shared micromobility systems require dedicated public investment to provide stable, reliable service. 


When bike share systems first launched, few places considered it to be a form of public transportation. Cities often relied on outside operators to fund these mobility options. Now, 15 years after the first bike share system opened in North America, shared micromobility is no longer an experiment — it's a proven and vital piece of many cities' transportation systems. Unfortunately, funding is still unstable in many places. 

Shared micromobility is an essential transportation service. The Better Bike Share Partnership is taking this opportunity to highlight success stories and advocate for more support of bike and scooter share systems through increased public investment, the construction of safe and connected infrastructure, the creation of sustainable partnerships with system sponsors, and setting clear plans for long-term growth.


Last year, David Zipper highlighted the issue of expecting bike share to operate without subsidy in an article published in Fast Company. The North American Bike and Scooter Share Association has hosted webinars and industry conversations (which can be found here, here, and here) on the role local, state, and federal governments should play in funding shared micromobility. Now, we have NACTO’s 2023 report reinforcing these conversations by calling out that “it is more important than ever to secure sustainable funding models for shared micromobility programs.”


As ridership and popularity of shared micromobility only continues to grow, we must capitalize opportunities to stabilize bike and scooter share systems through sustained public investment and work with cities to safeguard the future of their shared micromobility systems. 


You can access NACTO’s full 2023 report here.


The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation as a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), and  PeopleForBikes to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

NACTO’s 2023 Shared Micromobility Report Highlights Need for Partnerships and Public Investment

If you’ve ever attended a town hall meeting to support a proposed bike lane or trail, or simply engaged in a lively discussion about one on Nextdoor, you know it can often be a pretty frustrating process. These days, when discussing anything that involves growth or change, there’s almost always a small, vocal contingent that relies on emotion to argue why something shouldn’t happen. You might know a new bike lane — or another proposed project, like a housing bill that indirectly affects bicycling — would be a good thing for your community, but without data or research to back up your argument, speaking up can feel like a lost cause. 

That’s where our new guide comes in. At PeopleForBikes, we spend our days firmly entrenched in the research and data that supports building better communities for bicycling. We developed this 15-point fact sheet to help counteract misconceptions that often arise when advocating for change, as well as to promote strategies we know work. Bookmark it, print it out, and email it to everyone you know — let this article support you in shifting the larger conversation around the power of bicycling.

This might feel like a given, but if Utah Senator Mitt Romney’s recent remarks are any indication, we’re not all on the same page about the climate benefits of getting more people on bikes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), transportation makes up 28% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, with 57% of those emissions coming from passenger vehicles. When we build more (and better) bike lanes, the environmental benefits are clear: higher bike ridership, less driving, and an overall reduction in emissions.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon found that “if even 10% of short car trips during peak afternoon travel were replaced with micromobility, more than 4,800 car trips would not happen, decreasing vehicle miles traveled by more than 7,300 miles a day.” While this would translate to a 2.76% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, it would only be possible with “wide-scale bike lane deployment.” This study confirms similar findings from McGill University that spotlight bike infrastructure in Montreal, as well as research from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, which found new bike lanes lowered emissions in Guangzhou, China, and Bogota, Colombia.

According to another European study, if 10% of the population were to replace one car trip a day with a bike ride, overall carbon emissions from transportation would also drop 10%. Research done by Portland State University showed that if 15% of car trips were instead taken by electric bicycle, we could see a 12% decrease in transportation-related emissions. Add in the fact that bikes are one of the lowest carbon-emitting modes of transportation, and it's safe to say that any way you look at it, bicycling benefits the environment.

Ask most people why they don’t bike and they’ll likely name safety as a key concern. A nationwide survey from the National Institute for Transportation and Communities found that a whopping two-thirds of U.S. residents would be more likely to bike if they were separated from cars by a physical barrier. There is so much research that shows people will bike if cities build good infrastructure. Overall, the average protected bike lane sees bike counts increase 75% in its first year alone.

Notably, bicycling in Sevilla, Spain, increased 435% when the city added 86 miles of dedicated bike lanes. Even smaller transformations to include protected bike infrastructure can have a huge impact. After buffered bike lanes were installed on Philadelphia's Spruce and Pine streets, bike traffic increased 95%, while intersections in Montreal with protected bike lanes saw 61% more bike traffic than comparable intersections with no bike infrastructure. There’s also evidence that protected bike lanes are better for bike share.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a 2022 upgrade brought a two-way protected bike lane to a section of Garden Street, where before there had only been sharrows and door-zone bike lanes. The changes transformed the entire neighborhood: Bike mode-share nearly quadrupled and increased by more than 2%. Even accounting for seasonal dips in ridership, bicycling in the area increased more than sixfold since the separated bike lanes were built.

3. Yes, protected bike lanes are better than sharrows or standard bike lanes

As a rule of thumb, if something’s not going to be comfortable for people of all ages and abilities to ride, then don’t build it.

For decades, U.S. traffic engineers assumed that people on bikes could almost always share the road with cars. But a shoulder — even a striped bike lane — on a street with fast traffic isn’t an appealing place to bike for most people, especially women and less experienced riders. Putting a bike symbol in the middle of a busy thoroughfare does little to make it a place where parents feel comfortable riding with their children.

We now know, based on both U.S. and international experience, what kind of infrastructure designs give people of all ages and abilities the sense of safety, comfort, and enjoyment that makes them want to ride. This includes protected bike lanes, which are located next to the road and physically separated from traffic, as well as things like better lighting, traffic-calming barriers, and well-marked crosswalks. While sharrows might have a place in small towns or on low-stress streets, protected bike lanes should be the default for roadways with speeds above 25 mph or when vehicular volumes exceed 6,000 average daily traffic (ADT).

People living in bike-friendly communities tend to have better health outcomes due to increased physical activity, improved cardiovascular health, and reduced stress levels. A 2015 Columbia University study showed that New York City's $10 million investment in bike and pedestrian improvements resulted in an estimated societal health savings benefit of $230 million. Put another way, every $1,300 New York City invested in building bike lanes provided benefits equivalent to one additional year of life at full health over the lifetime of all city residents. 

According to the British Medical Journal, regular bicycling is associated with a 41% decrease in the risk of death from any cause, a 45% decrease in the risk of cancer, and a 46% decrease in the risk of heart disease. And the benefits don’t stop there: a PLOS Medicine study showed that people who began bicycling regularly after age 50 saw a 20% decrease in the risk of Type II Diabetes. 

5. Bikes lanes and trails are good for business

In response to proposed or newly built bike lanes, it seems like store owners often complain about reduced parking and customers lost. All of the evidence, however, points to the fact that installing protected bike routes tends to boost local shops. For example, after a hugely contested bike lane was installed on Skillman Avenue in Queens, New York, data shows that sales in the stores, bars, and restaurants on the seven-block commercial stretch collectively rose by 12%.

Other streets in New York have seen similar results: After the construction of a protected bike lane on 9th Avenue in Manhattan, local businesses saw a 49% increase in retail sales (on other streets in the borough, the average was only 3%) and a redesign of the city’s Union Square to include a protected bike lane resulted in 49% fewer commercial vacancies, compared to 5% more throughout Manhattan. And it’s not just in New York: In Salt Lake City's Broadway, replacing parking with protected bike lanes increased retail sales. 

There’s also evidence that customers who arrive at retail stores by bike spend the same amount per month compared to people who arrive by car — they tend to make smaller purchases but return more frequently. What’s more, neighborhoods that don’t require a car to move around are more economically resilient. Bike trails and greenways also benefit communities economically by attracting visitors, promoting job growth in tourism-related industries, and revitalizing communities through the "Trail Town" model and Trail-Oriented Development.

6. More bike infrastructure can benefit drivers, too

It’s important to remember that even if the infrastructure is perfect, not everyone will choose to bike. Die-hard drivers can still become bike advocates, however, especially when they realize that the more people ride bikes, the less car congestion there is. 

This was a key messaging point in Austin, where the city completed 115 miles of new bike lanes in just two years. By shifting traffic from cars to bikes and making it easier to reach transit stops, Austin's planned 400-mile protected bike lane network is projected to increase the city's traffic capacity by about 25,000 trips per day at about the same cost ratio as a single expressway widening.

In 2014, a New York City Department of Transportation (NYDOT) study found that after a six-foot buffered bike lane was installed on Columbus Avenue, car volumes were unaffected and that those cars moved 35% faster. According to an NYDOT statement, the “study found that on corridors with protected bike lanes traffic flow was maintained or improved on average because of the enhanced organization of the roadway.”

7. Protected bike lanes and reduced speeds save lives

Time and again, we see that when speed limits fall, safety rises. Because the likelihood of fatality increases exponentially with vehicle speed, even small reductions in speed limits can have an outsized effect. The Highway Safety Manual shows that deadly crashes can be decreased by 17% if speeds are reduced by just 1 mph, while a separate study from Sweden's Lund Institute of Technology found that a 10% reduction in average speed led to 34% fewer fatal crashes. (As an added bonus, there's evidence that lower speed limits improve air quality.)

A widely celebrated success story comes from Spain: When the speed limit on single-lane urban roads was lowered to 18.5 mph, road deaths fell by 14%. For cyclists, deaths were cut almost in half. This is good news as cities nationwide lower speed limits across the board, making streets safer for everyone. 

The even better news? Protected bike lanes reduce speeding and make streets safer for people walking, biking, and driving. After protected bike lanes were installed in New York City, injuries for all road users on those streets were reduced by 40-50%. Similarly, protected bike lanes in Montreal led to a 28% decrease in injuries. This 2019 study of twelve cities also found that protected bike lanes decrease fatalities for all road users. 

8. Bikes help reduce the cost of living and make cities more affordable

In 2021, U.S. households spent an average of $10,961 on transportation, making it the second largest household expense after housing. One in four U.S. adults suffers from transportation insecurity, a phenomenon that often has an inequitable impact on low-income families. Increasing access to low-cost modes of transportation like bikes — and safe places to ride them — effectively reduces this often-overlooked household expense and ensures communities remain affordable for everyone. The Housing and Transportation (H+T®) Affordability Index is a great tool to determine the neighborhood-level housing and transportation costs for your community. 

9. Housing policy and bike policy are intertwined

The right kind of housing policy can make our communities more bike-friendly. When we create transit-oriented neighborhoods, remove parking requirements, allow for more infill housing in existing urban areas, and permit the building of accessory dwelling units and multi-family housing, we naturally start to create places where destinations are closer together and people feel more comfortable biking.

The U.S. is in the midst of a severe housing crisis, forcing residents to live increasingly far away from important destinations. Adopting climate-friendly land use policies promotes a mix of land uses in close proximity to one another. When people’s homes are closer to their basic needs — jobs, grocery stores, schools, pharmacies, etc. — they’re more likely to ride a bike for daily trips. For those who drive, trips are considerably shorter.

10. Parking reform is key to building bike-friendly cities

The U.S. has about 2 billion parking spots, which translates to about seven parking spaces for every car. And parking is expensive for new developers to build — it can cost between $40,000 and $60,000 per parking space — increasing housing costs for everyone and taking valuable space away from development.

What’s more, fewer homes have led to a slew of other intersecting issues: a nationwide housing shortage, an increase in home prices, and growing inequity. Lower-income families who drive less and use transit more inevitably end up paying for infrastructure they don’t need while drivers are subsidized for their car use. 

When parking is required, buildings are forced to spread further and further apart, decreasing an area’s walkability and leading to urban sprawl, which swallows more and more land to sustain the same population. This in turn pushes people to drive more, upping greenhouse gas emissions, while the ensuing traffic makes it harder for everyone to get where they need to go. 

Essentially, this plethora of free car storage is at the root of a number of societal woes. A much better investment is a network of protected bike lanes and trails. Less parking means more proximity — since most people only want to bike one or two miles, the more destinations you have in that radius, the better a place becomes for bicycling. That’s only possible, however, if you’re not required to build big parking lots. Thus, parking reform is key to building bike-friendly cities.

While the federal government currently offers a federal tax credit for electric cars of up to $7,500, nothing similar exists for people buying an electric bike. With a lack of federal initiative, more and more states, counties, and cities across the country are taking matters into their own hands, creating e-bike incentive programs that are as varied in substance as they are geographically. While many programs are relatively new, the data is compelling. 

Launched in the spring of 2022, Denver’s incredibly popular e-bike incentive program has led to some notable results, including $1 million in cumulative annual savings for the city. Researchers also calculated that the program avoided considerable amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, with some 71% of survey respondents claiming to use their gas-powered vehicles less often (those surveyed rode their e-bikes an average of 26 miles per week, replacing 3.4 round trip vehicle trips). Importantly, 29% of Denver e-bike redeemers who completed the program survey indicated they were also new to riding.

12. Shared micromobility is a good investment for cities

Bike and scooter share, known collectively as shared micromobility, is a good investment for cities. When shared micromobility is done equitably, it can help alleviate transportation insecurity and lead to better public health, environmental, and economic outcomes. Unfortunately, not nearly enough municipalities treat shared micromobility as an integral part of their transit landscape or fund it accordingly. That’s a huge miss.

A 2021 study found that bike share systems are a boon for public health, saving the U.S. healthcare system more than $36 million a year on average. Another research paper from that same year looked at New York’s Citi Bike and found that the system — the largest in the U.S. — is a net win for the climate. In Britain, a more recent study found that if one-fifth of car trips were taken by shared electric bikes or scooters, the result would be a more than $1.2 billion boost to the economy.

On paper, many bicycle laws — such as those that require people to wear helmets, use bike lights, obtain a bike license or register their bikes — seem like a great idea. After all, helmets can protect our heads in the case of a crash, lights help bikers see and be seen, bike licenses can raise money for infrastructure, and bike registrations safeguard people against theft. At least that’s all true in theory. In reality, these laws are virtually unknown and rarely enforced. When they do get enforced, it’s usually to the detriment of Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC) or those experiencing homelessness.

A report from Equitable Cities outlines how prevalent these transportation laws are in the U.S. In addition to the obvious trauma that can make even the most essential trip to the grocery store a fraught affair, these policies limit mobility, opportunity, and access for BIPOC. They also have implications beyond mobility, contributing to adverse social, political, economic, environmental, and health outcomes. There’s also evidence that repealing laws doesn’t have negative effects: A 2023 study also found that after a helmet law was abolished in Seattle, helmet use actually increased.

14. Bicycling is really good for our youth

There are obvious reasons why any bike advocate would want to see more kids on bikes, including the fact that youth are our cities’ future riders and the next generation of community leaders. What’s less often talked about are the holistic health benefits bicycling offers our children. Aside from the obvious physical benefits of increased activity, youths who engage in regular physical activity report fewer depression and anxiety symptoms, have higher self-esteem, and also perform better academically than kids who are inactive. Additionally, Outride’s “Riding for Friends, Fun, and Fitness” report highlights how youth who ride regularly report higher levels of mental well-being and spend fewer hours in front of screens. 

Don’t always focus on bikes — in fact, if you can manage it, your messaging should focus on the benefits to everyone rather than just people riding bikes. This may seem antithetical to the goal of getting more people riding but research bears out this messaging strategy. Make a point to talk about how bicycling infrastructure improves the lives of all, whether or not people choose to bike, by increasing opportunity, relieving congestion, and growing the economy through recreation improvements. 

When discussing bicycle infrastructure, dwell less on the cyclists and instead focus on how infrastructure can help make streets safer for everyone, benefit people’s health, and provide crucial transportation access to jobs and essential services. Your messaging around bikes should always focus on bringing people together and turning drivers into supporters. 

As the leaders in the fight for building better communities, the responsibility for messaging falls on us. To win over diverse groups and achieve a bike-forward agenda, we need to shift the conversation.

PeopleForBikes’ latest initiative, The Great Bike Infrastructure Project, is an ambitious program aimed at transforming communities across the United States by championing pro-bike policies and launching thousands of bike infrastructure projects. The goal of the project is to create safer and more accessible biking opportunities for everyone.

This visionary program comprises three vital components:

1. The implementation of thousands of bike projects

3. Significant investments in local communities 

In this four-part blog series, "A Legislative Playbook to Build More Bikeable Communities," we’ll dive into the legislative arm of our new program, exploring policies that promote safe, complete bike networks while also highlighting states and municipalities that are successfully putting these policies into action.

The policy pillars that make up The Great Bike Infrastructure Project’s legislative arm are outlined in the program’s Legislative Guide. Designed to aid policymakers and advocates in expanding local bike infrastructure for transportation and recreation, this comprehensive guide outlines four highly effective legislative solutions to accelerate the construction of safe and connected biking infrastructure. 

The key strategies featured in the guide include:

Funding for Bike Infrastructure: While there is an unprecedented amount of federal funding available for bike infrastructure, state and local funding are essential to propel more projects forward. Local funding also provides the 20-50% local match required for most federal grants. Our guide offers examples of more than a dozen different state and local funding mechanisms for bike infrastructure, ranging from Tax Increment Financing districts to sales tax revenue and everything in between.


Mandating Complete Streets: The implementation of Complete Streets mandates is a pivotal strategy for advancing bike infrastructure. Complete Streets ensure that all road users — including pedestrians, cyclists, public transit users, and drivers — have safe and accessible ways to reach their destinations. Our guide provides examples of legislation that includes strong and specific requirements for creating Complete Streets, including language that allows for limited exceptions and denotes clear roles and responsibilities to make mandates effective.


Advancing Bike Infrastructure Through Climate Legislation: Our guide underscores how state and local climate legislation can facilitate the construction of bike projects. By including bike infrastructure in climate legislation, communities can help reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately delivering significant environmental and fiscal benefits. We highlight examples of climate legislation in Minnesota, Washington, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, showcasing the most effective components.


Creating Safer Places to Ride: Ensuring streets are safe for cyclists is paramount to encouraging the adoption of bicycling for both transportation and recreation. Our guide emphasizes several strategies for local communities and states to achieve safer streets, including measures to reduce traffic speeds, ban right turns on red, and adopt modern design standards.

In this blog series, we will provide in-depth insights into each of these legislative strategies and demonstrate where we are already witnessing success stories. Promoting safe and connected places to ride remains our overarching goal to get more people on bikes.

Our work at PeopleForBikes to advance bike riding across the U.S. relies heavily on our local advocacy partners in all 50 states. If you are actively involved in improving bike infrastructure in your community, we would love to hear from you and discuss how PeopleForBikes can support your efforts. Please reach out to us at info@peopleforbikes.org. Together, we can make biking safer and more accessible for all.

A Legislative Playbook to Build More Bikeable Communities

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)

The latest City Ratings, PeopleForBikes' annual program ranking global cities and towns on how good they are for bicycling, shows that Canberra is the best place for biking in Australia, followed by Alice Springs and Sunshine Coast. This comes as the Australian Government recently announced the largest investment in active travel in more than a decade. 

Starting in July next year, $100 million will be available for new biking and walking paths across the country. According to the government, this will “support zero-emissions travel, provide a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians, and promote active and liveable communities”.


City Ratings scores and rankings measure the quality and connectivity of a city’s bike network, including its protected bike lanes, bike paths, low speed limits, and safe crossings. Canberra scores higher (with a rating of 55 out of 100) than any other city in Australia due to its excellent network of shared paths. This is despite the fact that many of its actual roads rate as "high stress" due to having high speed limits. 

The second best location is Alice Springs, which has a rating of 51, followed by Sunshine with a rating of 46. 


At the other end of the rankings, Port Macquarie is identified as the worst city for biking in Australia with a rating of just 24. This is followed by Townsville with 25 and Central Coast with 27. 

There has been historical reluctance to introduce bike infrastructure in cities across Australia, with moves to do so often controversial due to the perceived impact on driving. This is why even popular international destinations such as greater Sydney have a poor rating of just 29. 


The overall findings are subpar compared to other countries. Australian towns and cities have an average rating of just 34, compared to an impressive 78 for the Netherlands. When looking at individual examples, places such as Paris (87), the Hague (89), and Munich (85) really show just how far behind Australian towns and cities are when it comes to bicycling. This is partly explained by the fact that almost all cities in Australia have high speed limits. 


“With the release of our latest City Ratings, we're excited to highlight how  Australian cities rank for the caliber of their bike infrastructure. Canberra leads the way with its impressive network of shared paths, setting a benchmark for the country,” said PeopleForBikes President and CEO Jenn Dice. "This comes at a crucial time, as the Australian Government's unprecedented $100 million investment in active travel next year promises to create safer and more connected communities. We hope this data will empower local advocates and policymakers to champion  the necessary infrastructure that promotes zero-emissions travel and enhances the quality of life for all residents.”

Canberra Comes Out on Top as Best City for Biking in Australia

Every year, PeopleForBikes releases the results of its City Ratings, a data-driven program that evaluates, identifies, and compares the best global cities and towns for bicycling. Using this data, we help city leaders pinpoint improvements to make biking better and safer for everyone in their communities.

City Ratings scores are generated using PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis, which you can learn more about here. 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 2023, we rated 1,484 cities of all sizes throughout the U.S. and 249 international cities on the quality of their bike networks. Each city receives a City Ratings score on a scale of 0-100. A low score (0-20) indicates a weak bike network, meaning the city lacks safe bikeways or there are gaps in the network. A high score (80-100) indicates that most common destinations are accessible by safe, comfortable bike routes that serve people of all ages and abilities. For larger cities, a score of 50 is the tipping point to becoming a great place to bike.

With so much data to sort through, we created this summary report to showcase how the program works alongside high-level takeaways from this year’s ratings.




For 2023, the top-scoring small, medium, and large U.S. cities for bicycling are: Provincetown, Massachusetts; Davis, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis, Minnesota, saw a tremendous increase in its score over last year, improving 31 points between 2022 and 2023, landing at the #1 spot in large U.S. cities for this year. 

Newcomers to the top 10 include Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a large city that improved its ratings score from 35 out of 100 in 2022 to 45 out of 100 in 2023. That jump also helped Wisconsin see a substantial rise in ridership as well. Eco-Counter data shows that ridership growth in the state outpaced the rest of the Midwest region: On the weekends, there are 20% more rides happening across Wisconsin than there were in 2019 and weekday rides are up 27%.  

Longmont, Colorado, also edged its way into the top 10 medium cities, improving its score from 36 in 2022 to 59 in 2023. Among small cities, Blue Diamond, Nevada; Murdock, Nebraska; Shorewood, Wisconsin; and Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, are all new to City Ratings and earned top 10 spots for 2023. Jackson, Wyoming, also moved into the top 10 small cities for the first time this year.


The average score among all U.S. cities is 23 out of 100. Cities in the top 10 score 55 out of 100 on average.


Five percent of U.S. cities score 50 or higher in this year’s City Ratings, with 50 being the threshold score for becoming a great place for bicycling. Meanwhile, more than half of U.S. cities score between 10 and 30.


Among medium and large cities with more than 50,000 residents, the top-scoring city in each state ranged from Davis, California (77) to Cheyenne, Wyoming (7).

Speed limits play a large role in City Ratings scores, and a growing number of cities across the U.S. are lowering speeds to make their roads safer. Slightly more than half of U.S. cities have speed limits of 25 mph or less on residential roads, while the remaining cities with speed limits of 30 mph or greater on residential roads could improve the safety of their bike network by reducing travel speeds.

Roads outside of residential areas also benefit from speed limit reductions, alone or in combination with other safety improvements such as upgrading bicycle infrastructure. The chart below summarizes the bike infrastructure needed on local roads based on their speed limits to improve a city’s score. 

Now in our sixth year of City Ratings, multiple years of data allow us to see changes in the quality of cities’ bike networks over time. Data quality has improved over the years as well, which is reflected in score changes. The chart below illustrates five years of data measuring the quality of bike networks among this year’s top 10 large cities.

More than just data, PeopleForBikes utilizes its City Ratings program to benchmark cities’ progress on improving the quality and connectivity of their bike networks as well as establish best practices for city leaders, decision-makers, and advocates to identify improvements to be made in their communities, ultimately making bicycling better for everyone.

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.”

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