Places for Bikes

The five major factors (Ridership, Safety, Network, Reach and Acceleration) are scored on a five-point scale, and are weighted equally (20% each) to provide the overall score. Together, these factors provide an overall assessment of the current state of bicycling in a community and how quickly improvements are being made.

Ridership

The Ridership score reflects how many people in the community ride bikes. It considers biking for both recreational biking and biking for transportation. Data Sources: ACS, SMS, Community Survey

Safety

The Safety score considers fatalities and injuries of people on bikes as well as those walking and driving. Perceptions of safety are also given weight. Data Sources: FARS, Community Survey, City Snapshot

Network

The Network score evaluates the quality of the bike network — how completely it connects people to each other and local destinations using comfortable routes. Perceptions of the network are also given weight. Data Sources: BNA, Community Survey

Reach

The Reach score determines how well a community’s low-stress network serves all members of the community. It uses demographic data to understand differences in access and connectivity for traditionally underserved populations compared to the whole city. Data Sources: ACS, BNA

Acceleration

The Acceleration score assesses how quickly a community is improving its biking infrastructure and how successful its encouragement programs are at getting people to ride. Data Sources: City Snapshot, Community Survey