A bicyclist riding in the Columbia River Gorge. Oregon was among the top 5 “bicycle-friendly” states in the League of American Bicyclists’ 2024 state rankings. Dive Brief:
Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, California and Minnesota topped the list of “bicycle-friendly” states in a report issued Thursday by the League of American Bicyclists.
The League ranked states on the basis of five actions it advocates every state to take, said the organization’s policy director, Ken McLeod. These are centered around bicycle infrastructure, safety, funding, planning and laws.
Although the 2021 infrastructure law made more federal funding available for bicycle safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 1,149 bicyclists died in traffic collisions in 2023.
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Dive Insight: The League report focuses on state-owned roads, which see a higher percentage of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths despite making up a relatively small percentage of all roads, McLeod said. “The data says their roadways are the deadliest roadways, and they have to be responsible for making sure that they’re safe for people biking and walking,” he said.The report judges state departments of transportation on their efforts to improve safety for bicyclists, McLeod explained. The biggest difference between the best-ranked states and those at the lower rungs is whether they have specific planning around bike safety and update their plans every 10 […]
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