October is Energy Awareness month. What better way to celebrate than by acknowledging those cities which encourage one of the most efficient means of transportation available?
We’re talking about biking, of course. According to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, if more cities adopted robust pro-bicycling programs, biking could help reduce carbon emissions by 11%.
Some cities are already doing so. And the results show, say the editors of Bicycling Magazine. They recently sized up an array of initiatives in cities across the U.S. to help determine the best biking cities in America.
“Our ranking system is out of 100 points divided into four categories, each weighted based on their importance,” the editors write. “Safety tops the list and is ranked out of 40 points. Eight to 80 friendliness (how accessible the city is to riders of all ages) came next out of 30 points. Then energy—a measure of the political climate in regards to bikes—out of 20 points. Finally, culture—the shops, routes, and attributes that make each city a great place to ride—was ranked out of 10 points.”
The editors considered factors such as transportation spending and bike lanes, number of bike commuters, bike advocacy and bikeshare programs, open street events, and how police departments handle crashes involving bicyclists. While the publication says it found no perfectly bikeable cities, they did come close.
Here are the top 10 Best Biking Cities in America:
1. Seattle, WA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Fort Collins, CO
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. Portland, OR
6. Chicago, IL
7. Eugene, OR
8. Madison, WI
9. New York City, NY
10. Cambridge, MA
See full results and methodology here.
Data is compiled and reported by Bicycling Magazine. Report does not reflect statistics on all cities.