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More Americans embracing Urban Cycling
Americans are taking up cycling and cities are responding. From 1977 to 2009, the total number of trips on a bike has tripled. In 2009, twice as many people commuted to work by cycling than did in 2000. The Economist predicts that with 48% of trips in cities falling under three miles, there is still plenty of room for further growth.
As interest in biking increases, cities nationwide are competing to make their streets more bike friendly. Recognizing how biking options improve quality of life, New York, Minneapolis, and Washington D.C. have increased their investment in their biking infrastructure. Portland introduced a comprehensive bike plan starting in the early nineties, which has increased biking in the city six times over. Chicago is planning a bike-share program with over 3,000 bikes, one of the largest in the country.
While automobiles still remain the overwhelming choice for travel in the U.S., cycling as mode of transportation is obviously becoming a more acceptable alternative. Large cities have committed millions of dollars to make their infrastructure more bike friendly, but in smaller cities, there are a lot of inexpensive measures which could be put into place to promote city biking. What sort of improvements would you like to see in your city to make it more bike friendly?
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