League of American Bicyclists

Rankings are tabulated through a blend of federally-available data on ridership, fatalities, and spending on biking and walking per capita, and extensive surveys of state DOTs.

LAB did a good job of laying out some of the things that CDOT has gotten right when promoting cycling, while noting that we still need a lot more miles of protected bike lanes.

Earlier this month, the League of American Bicyclists released a report with a method for exploring how well bike networks provide access to underserved communities. Using Chicago as a case study, the report found that our city’s “planned network” would provide African-American and Latino neighborhoods with less than their fair share of access to bike lanes and paths.

In 2012, the city of Chicago, the Active Transportation Alliance, and hundred of residents made a major effort to ensure the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 would create a bike network with convenient access for all Chicagoans, regardless of who they are or where they live.

How does your state measure up on bike policy? The League of American Bicyclists is out with its 2015 state rankings, highlighting the states that are doing the most -- and the least -- to make bicycling a safe and convenient way to get around. Washington tops the list for the eighth year in a row, with Alabama bringing up the rear.

Yesterday, the League of American Bicyclists announced that 55 new and renewing municipalities have won recognition in the group’s Bicycle Friendly Communities program, and there are now participants in all 50 states. However, even after all the strides Chicago has made in the last few years, we're still languishing at the same Silver-level ranking we’ve been at since 2005.

Do people of color and low-income people ride bikes? Not as much as they could, given all the great benefits biking offers, particularly to people without a lot of disposable cash. But yes, non-white and non-rich people ride bikes -- in high numbers compared to the general population, by some measures.

Bike advocates from places like Portland, New York, and Boulder got a little Rust Belt envy this week when Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto spoke to the National Bike Summit Tuesday morning.

Carolyn Szczepanski is the Bike League's communications director. A version of this post was originally published on the Bike League Blog.