2022’s Best Places to Bike features cities nationwide that offer actionable lessons on improving bicycling locally. Focusing on youth engagement, connecting biking networks and building trails for all skill levels are just a few ways any city can become a best place to bike.
Even the best cities for bicycling didn’t start that way. Through decades of progress, these cities discovered how to tap into broad community support and gain the commitment of local leadership to build completely connected, comfortable networks of protected bikeways, trails and quiet neighborhood streets that allow people to travel safely on two wheels.
For decades, protected bike lanes were a missing tool in the American toolbox. That changed in 2007, when New York City began building protected bike lanes at a rapid pace, helping jumpstart a wave of U.S. innovation. Today, 480 miles of protected bike lanes contribute to the 1,200-mile network used by more than 800,000 residents on a regular basis. Prioritizing connections, building out bike share, and making space for everyone are key components of New York City's success.
While the West Virginia city doesn’t currently have the most impressive City Ratings score, it’s well-positioned to grow into a top spot for bicycling.
Looking for a new city to put down roots that’s also great for cycling? We selected some of our favorite performers from this year’s City Ratings.
America is home to some incredibly beautiful destinations — we collected our favorites to see by bike.
For the sixth consecutive year, PeopleForBikes is proud to release our annual City Ratings, a data-driven program to evaluate, identify and compare the best cities and towns for bicycling.
We collected a few of our favorite places to adventure by bike, all of which ranked in the top 100 of our 2022 City Ratings.
Known as one of the birthplaces of mountain biking in the U.S., a community of townies is helping cut off the need for cars.
Supported by quality bike networks, high ridership among students and campus-led initiatives to increase bicycling safety, many university towns rated highly in this year’s City Ratings.
Twenty years ago, the small, Northwest Arkansas city was relatively unknown. Today, it’s the mountain biking capital of the world.
Wanting to bring more people to bicycling, nonprofit Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is advocating to close gaps in Seattle’s bicycle network.
Tools like BikeMaps.org and PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis help planners make investment decisions that prioritize safety.
PeopleForBikes’ new SPRINT methodology lays the groundwork for cities looking to improve bicycling locally.
Time and again, we’ve seen that when speed limits fall, safety rises — as do cities’ Bicycle Network Analysis scores.