Washington state leads the list of “bicycle friendly states” for the fourth year in a row in 2011.
Thank goodness the League of American Bicyclists doesn't count the weather in considering bicycle-friendliness.
The League announced the rankings on Monday, noting that Maine has been steadily moving up the ranks over the past few years for a No. 2 finish in 2011.
At the bottom end of the list, West Virginia ranked the least bicycle friendly, swapping places with Alabama which now occupies 47th place.
Report card
The rankings are based on a questionnaire answered by the state bicycle coordinators, then graded on six categories:
Legislation;
Policies and programs;
Infrastructure;
Education and encouragement;
Evaluation and planning;
Enforcement.
Washington state scored 'A's or 'B's in all categories, except “Infrastructure” in which it scored a D. As for the weather, bicyclists here have adapted to cycling with the wetness.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure remained the toughest category on the report card for all states. Maine received a 'B', Iowa, Florida, Illinois, Virginia received 'C's, and all other states received 'D's or 'F's.
The League also measures the performance of legislators, law enforcement and cycling advocates. League president Andy Clarke said:
“It is when there is combined and consistent work of multiple agencies,
legislators and advocate promoting bicycling at the state level that
you start to see big gains. The
states that have consistently ranked in the top five or ten have that
going for them.”
Slight shifts
In spite of trying to offer encouragement, the League notes there have been only slight shifts among the top and bottom 10 states over the past four years since the program was introduced.
Still, the program has helped inspire pro-bicycling legislation. According to the press release:
“With the dynamic and competitive state rankings,
states are often separated by only a few items such as passage of key
legislation, updated traffic code, or increased education programs.
“Examples of bike-friendly improvement this past year include: three-foot
minimum safe passing bills signed into law in Kansas and Georgia; a
Complete Streets policy implemented in Michigan and updated training on
bicycling related laws and enforcement in Massachusetts.”
How they rank
Here's the 50 states in order:
1. Washington
2. Maine
3. Wisconsin
4. Minnesota
5. New Jersey
6. Iowa
7. Florida
8. Oregon
9. Massachusetts
10. Maryland
11. Illinois
12. Colorado
13. Virginia
14. New Hampshire
15. Vermont
16. Arizona
17. Wyoming
18. Delaware
19. Indiana
20. California
21. Connecticut
22. Michigan
23. Kansas
24. Louisiana
25. Pennsylvania
26. Missouri
27. Tennessee
28. Rhode Island
29. Alaska
30. Idaho
31. Utah
32. Texas
33. Kentucky
34. New York
35. Mississippi
36. Hawaii
37. Ohio
38. North Carolina
39. South Carolina
40. Georgia
41. South Dakota
42. Nevada
43. Oklahoma
44. New Mexico
45. Nebraska
46. Montana
47. Alabama
48. Arkansas
49. North Dakota
50. West Virginia
The League also tells the state-by-state report card for all the categories.
Meanwhile, the League also issued Bicycle Friendly awards to the following states:
Bronze to Delaware (renewal), Maryland, Massachusetts and Tennessee and silver to Minnesota and Wisconsin (renewal).
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