The League of American Bicyclists, the same organization that brings us National Bike Month, has established a system for determining how bicycle friendly different states are.
They consider a variety of factors, including enforcement, policies, infrastructure, education and future planning. Each category is worth 5 points. It’s a good idea to spread out the categories in this way, because it takes account of progress and development. This means that a state that’s working to increase its infrastructure, for example, won’t score very highly on the infrastructure section (yet), but will likely do well in other categories, such as legislation and planning.
Click the map to link to LAB’s interactive version.
Through this system, states can receive more information and guidance about how to improve cycling conditions for their residents. And the easier it is to ride, the more people will do it.
What do you think is the best way to encourage more people to ride? How does your state rank? What do you think of the ranking system?
