There’s some good news and some not so good news in a recently issued report on bicycling in nine North American cities.
The cities are: Chicago, Minneapolis, Montréal, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C.
The good news includes finding that in the seven U.S. cities bicycle commuting increased by 64% between 1990 and 2009. In the two Canadian cities by 42%. Also bicycling fatalities rates have fallen dramatically since the late 1980s in all the cities.
Yet, the amount of commuting that takes place by bicycle is less than 1% in the U.S. cities, less than 2% in the three Canadian cities. And by far, men are much more likely to bicycle commute than women.
The report goes on to cite all the innovations each of the cities have made to encourage increased and safer bicycle travel. By far Portland leads the pack in all the areas: bicycle boulevards, a dense network of dedicated bikeways, bicycle corrals, a large number of cycling events and a generally vibrant bicycle culture.
The report was written from the perspective of New York City, which has made a major investment in promotion of bicycling, has fallen far behind the other cities in terms of the increase of ridership and decrease in fatalities, and is currently embroiled in controversy over its aggressive biking program. The report concludes that New York has a long way to go in terms of separation of bike and auto traffic and law enforcement support for bicycling.
Lots of food for though in the report for bicycling advocates and city officials, even in Small Town, U.S.A.
