Three cities in the Pacific Northwest landed among the top five of Bicycling Magazine's list of Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities, but Minneapolis took the Number 1 spot.
In spite of winter conditions that many wouldn't consider conducive to bicycling, Minneapolis got the nod because of its active bicycle culture and the doubling of bike commuters in just a 3-year-period.
Rounding out the Top 5 are Portland, Oregon (#2), Boulder, Colorado (#3), Seattle (#4, at left) and Eugene, Oregon (#5).
Best small cities
The region also ranked high among cities under 100,000 population. The top 5 are Davis, California (#1), Corvallis, Oregon (#2), Bellingham, Washington (#3), Missoula, Montana (#4), Burlington, Vermont (#5).
To arrive at the top 50 list, the researchers compared miles of bike lanes, bike routes and bike racks, as well as the cities' bicycle master plans. The number of bike commuters, cycling clubs, bicycling events and well-known bike shops also played into the choices.
They also relied on the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle-Friendly project and the “Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. 2010 Benchmarking Report” prepared by the Alliance for Biking and Walking.
Checking the top 5 Bicycling list against the League of American Bicyclists' list, Portland and Boulder are each platinum level cities (the highest), while Seattle and Eugene are gold and Minneapolis is a silver.
Good attributes
The editors cited:
Portland's innovative programs for making it bike friendly for even novice cyclists;
Boulder's 95% rate of bicycle friendly streets;
Seattle's 10-year, $234 million bicycle master plan ;
Eugene's ample bike parking, lit bike path and Smartways to School programs.
Some other states
California had two entries among the top 50 big-city list, San Francisco (#6) and Long Beach (#23). Idaho had 1, Boise (#32).
The southeastern U.S. was almost bereft of cities on the top 50 list. Florida had two, Gainesville (#16) and Miami (#44), and South Carolina had one, Charleston (#29). Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia had none.
The three worst cities for bicycling all came from the South: Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee.
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