According to the League of American Bicyclists, the state of Washington is #1 on its list of Bicycle Friendly States – outranking Oregon by four spots. The league says it scored all 50 states using more than 70 factors in its ratings.
Bainbridge Island garnered a “Bronze Star” last spring in the league’s 2008 rankings of “Bicycling Friendly Communities.”
“The states were scored on responses to a questionnaire evaluating their commitment to bicycling and covering 6 key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement,” says the league’s announcement.
The top five states were:
1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Arizona
4. Oregon
5. Minnesota
“While every state has room to improve in making bicycling a preferred mode of transportation and accessible form of recreation, Washington is making the greatest strides to make this a reality,” said Andy Clarke, president of the League. Clarke points to Washington’s model bike laws, signed and mapped statewide bike route network, dedicated funding from the state for bicycle related programs and projects, and an active statewide bicycle advisory committee as a few examples of why Washington ranked the highest.
West Virginia is at the bottom of the list, at #50. [To see the entire list of states, click here.]
In the league’s 2008 ratings for “Bicycle Friendly Communities,” announced last May, Bainbridge Island received a Bronze Star, along with Port Townsend, Redmond and Vancouver. Bellingham rated a Silver Star. Bainbridge was among 11 new BFC’s added to the league’s list, which began in 2003. Two communities – Portland, Oregon and Davis, California, top the list with Platinum Stars. [To see the entire list of Bicycle Friendly Community awards, click here.]
The league cited the following reasons for Bainbridge’s Bronze Star award:
“In 2007, 7 percent of the Bainbridge population participated in their Bike to Work and School Day. The city currently boasts 30 miles of bike lanes, covering nearly 20 percent of their total road network. Of the arterial streets, 65 percent has bike lanes or paved shoulders.
“Most Significant Recent Accomplishment: In the last year, the City of Bainbridge Island included $800,000 for non-motorized capitol projects including on-road and off-road facilities.”
To see the five elements the league uses to determine a “Bike Friendly Community,” go here.
