Portland leads U.S. cities in bike-friendly culture, top cycling
researchers say
Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011
By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian The Oregonian
Illustration Omitted: Motoya Nakamura/The
OregonianBicyclists cross the Morrison Bridge during the Providence
Bridge Pedal 2010.
Portland is the one large American city that comes the closest to
adopting a "truly comprehensive" set of policies to promote
bicycling as a mainstream transportation choice, according to a new
report for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
John Pucher and Ralph Buehler, the two most prominent bicycling
researchers in the country, studied nine large cities in the U.S. and
Canada that have promoted cycling and singled out Portland for their
highest praise.
"Portland's success is evident in the numbers, with a 6-fold
increase in cycling levels since 1990," Pucher and Buehler
concluded.
Their study shows, they say, that bike lanes and off-street paths play
an important role in increasing bicycle use. But they say that very
large cities in the study that have done a lot to promote cycling,
such as New York and Chicago, find it more difficult to increase their
cycling rates, in part because of the "sometimes harrowing
experience of cycling in heavy traffic with high levels of noise and
air pollution."
Overall, among the nine cities, Portland has the highest share of
commuters -- 5.8 percent -- who cycle to work. Minneapolis is second
with 3.9 percent and Vancouver, B.C., is third with 3.7 percent. The
three are the smallest of the nine cities and have the safest cycling,
Pucher and Buehler report.
Among the 100 largest U.S. cities, Portland also has the highest share
of bike commuters, according to the report. And it is second only to
New York City in the total number of average daily bike commuters. New
York City had 24,000 daily bike commuters, compared to 13,200 for
Portland. Chicago and Los Angeles are next in line with each having
fewer than 13,000 daily bike commuters.
The report is intended to demonstrate how cities can encourage
cycling, and the researchers praise Portland for its wide variety of
pro-cycling policies. Of primary importance is the city's dense
bikeway network, which includes bike lanes, low-traffic bike
boulevards and off-street paths. In addition, the city led the way in
installing on-street bicycle parking corrals, has a large number of
cycling events and a "lively bike culture."
"The success of Portland is important because it shows that even
car-dependent American cities can greatly increase cycling by
implementing the right package of infrastructure, programs, and
policies," the report concludes.
-- Jeff Mapes
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