More and more people are discovering the benefits of biking for commuting, enjoyment and exercise. But as the number of bikers in your city increases, so should the safety measures taken to protect cyclists. Is your city considered “bike friendly?” Will you be safe on the roads?
What Factors Make A City Bike Friendly?
Bike friendly cities are growing each day and there are several ways a city can help improve life for their cyclist residents such as:
- Building bike lanes and bike boulevards
- Creating safer intersections for bicyclists
- Designing transit routes that work together with cycling routes
- Lowering speed limits or changing the timing of lights to slow cars down near cyclists
- Bike-safe routes
These are just a few actions that can make a city more bike friendly.
Additionally, there are several guidelines that factor into how bike-friendly a place is including:
- Number of bicyclist fatalities
- Bike transportation spending
- Bicycle advocacy programs
- Number of active bicycle commuters
- Bike sharing programs and bike-friendly businesses
- Open street events
Based on these factors, where does the city of Los Angeles land in the national ratings for bike-friendly cities?
Where Does Lost Angeles Fall In The Rankings?
According to bicycling.com, Los Angeles does not make the top-50 in best bike cities across the country. However, the state of California is rated among the top most bike-friendly states.
The top-five most bike-friendly cities are:
- Seattle, Washington
- San Francisco, California
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Each of these cities received high ratings in the categories of safety, friendliness, energy and culture. Though there are several bike-friendly cities in the state of California, according to these rankings, Los Angeles may need to step up their game when it comes to catering to cyclists.
