As we look ahead to the 2028 Olympics, PeopleForBikes is taking advantage of a unique opportunity to transform Los Angeles into a great place to ride a bike. Our approach involves capitalizing on the attention generated by the Olympics to expedite permanent improvements across the city alongside a more localized focus on Council District 1, whose newly elected leader looks to create an ambitious network of neighborhood bikeways.

A Countywide Vision for a Multimodal Olympics

The 2028 Olympics provide a historic opportunity to overhaul Los Angeles’ transportation system. With nearly 15,000 athletes participating in the Games and millions of international visitors expected to attend, organizers hope to use the Olympics to redefine Los Angeles as a multimodal city and plan to invest in alternative transportation to make that vision a reality. The goal is to create a new reputation for the city and avoid the traffic problems that plagued the 1932 and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Looking beyond 2028, PeopleForBikes is working to leverage the investment in this one-time event to create permanent, long-term improvements through infrastructure and programming.

Central to the proposed infrastructural changes is the Festival Trail, currently envisioned as a multimodal corridor stretching more than 40 miles across the city reaching key venues and transit hubs. The Festival Trail will connect low-stress bikeways, beautiful walking trails, and efficient bus rapid transit service to enable safe and accessible car-free mobility across Los Angeles. Working alongside local advocacy group Move LA and coordinating with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, PeopleForBikes is pushing to create safe and connected bike paths throughout this corridor and beyond.

The Los Angeles Festival Trail will connect almost every Olympic venue via multimodal trail, providing visitors with a car-free way to navigate the Games. PHOTO: MoveLA 

We are also advocating for the development of an additional bike path connecting the Festival Trail to the Los Angeles River. Through our investment and a partnership with Move LA and BikeLA, we are confident the new path will be built in time for spectators to enjoy a glorious 22-mile bike ride from the swimming venues in Inglewood to the beach venues at Long Beach, demonstrating just how bikeable LA can be for visitors and residents alike.


Other infrastructure improvements PeopleForBikes is advocating for include the development of mobility hubs located at major transit stations expected to handle the bulk of olympic traffic. These hubs will feature bike repair stations, plenty of high-quality bike parking, and numerous bike share stations along with other mobility services such as accommodations for people with disabilities and car share programs for people who don’t own a car. 

With vast areas of the city off-limits to delivery trucks for security reasons during the Olympics, PeopleForBikes is also championing the potential of cargo bikes for local deliveries. We are working with delivery companies and city officials to develop a bike-based delivery system that will meet the security needs of the Olympics while simultaneously establishing a sustainable, zero-emission delivery system that can be used well beyond 2028. 


In addition to critical infrastructure improvements, programming can also play a huge role in changing Angelenos’ view of their city from a car-dependent metropolis to a county of walkable and bikeable neighborhoods connected via convenient and affordable multimodal options. In the past, big events in Los Angeles resulted in massive traffic congestion, prompting many people to stay home and avoid the roads altogether. For the 2028 Summer Games, positive marketing showcasing easy and safe alternatives to driving can encourage residents to get out and enjoy their city without a car, providing what will be an unprecedented experience for many long-time locals and an opportunity to transform their daily mobility habits.  


Transforming Council District 1 With an Ambitious Bikeway Network

While we work toward countywide improvements ahead of 2028, we are also focused on driving local-level change in Council District 1 (CD1). Home to thousands of low-income residents who lack reliable access to automobiles, car parking, and even bike parking, the district is represented by newly elected Councilor Eunisses Hernandez, who has already shown tremendous support for bicycling and a desire to make up for previous disinvestment in creating safer streets.

Figueroa Street was improved with protected bike lanes last year by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, but the improvements stopped as the street entered CD1 due to opposition from the previous councilmember. With Councilor Hernandez in charge, PeopleForBikes is now working to extend these bike lanes into the district. PHOTO: DC Engineering

PeopleForBikes’ work in CD1 is part of our larger Great Bike Infrastructure Project, a nationwide effort to transform communities by developing safer and connected places to ride a bike. In CD1, we’re building a coalition of advocates to drive local support and ensure that our ambitious plans for a connected network of bikeways align with community needs and aspirations. We assembled a committee made up of leaders from groups including CicLAvia, BikeLA, and Los Angeles Walks who bring local expertise and community connections to the initiative. Together, we’re focused on identifying projects that will make the biggest impact and securing funding to make these projects a reality.

The infrastructure projects we’re supporting will transform the diverse neighborhoods that make up the district straddling the Los Angeles River from northeast Los Angeles to the densely populated neighborhoods adjacent to downtown, including Chinatown, Westlake, Pico Union, and parts of Koreatown. The proposals include protected bike lanes, low-speed shared streets, and bike paths. With the support of the Councilmember and donations from PeopleForBikes members, our plan is to invest in advocacy efforts necessary to win approval for these projects and turn this central part of Los Angeles into a great place to ride a bike. 

While Los Angeles has long been known as one of the most car-centric cities in the U.S., change is on the horizon. If Los Angeles can change for the better, that same change will be possible anywhere in the United States. This is why taking advantage of the Olympics and focused investment in central Los Angeles is so important. By working with local partners who share our vision of a more bikeable Los Angeles, we can develop best practices for success and show countless other cities across the country what’s possible with the proper tools and investment.


PeopleForBikes is hosting a launch party for our campaign to transform Council District 1 in spring 2025. Send an email to infrastructure@peopleforbikes.org if you are interested in being involved.

Building the Future of Biking in Los Angeles

Officials and advocates enjoy the new Pershing Bikeway on its opening day. PHOTO CREDIT: San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

More than 200 high-priority bike projects were constructed across the U.S. in the last year according to PeopleForBikes’ National Bike Project Tracker, a first-of-its-kind database as part of our Great Bike Infrastructure Project. 

With the goal of creating more safe, fun, and connected places to ride in communities nationwide, the Great Bike Infrastructure Project is fast-tracking thousands of bike projects in all 50 states. From protected bike lanes to multi-use paths to singletrack mountain bike trails, each project in our database features a basic description and project status — proposed or planned, approved but not funded, funded and ready for construction, or completed — alongside useful links for people to support local advocacy organizations and get projects across the finish line in their backyard.


As we enter the second year of the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, we’re celebrating a few of our favorite projects that were completed in the last 12 months along with the many benefits that bike projects can offer communities of all shapes and sizes. 

300 West is a critical north-south arterial road in Salt Lake City that previously wasn’t safe for biking. Local leaders took advantage of the need to repave the street to make much needed improvements, implementing Complete Streets strategies championed by the Great Bike Infrastructure Project. Using funding from the city’s “Funding Our Future” program, a local sales tax that can be a great funding source for creating better places to bike, the city constructed new crosswalks, planted trees for shade, and built a new 10-foot-wide bike path adjacent to the sidewalk so bike riders and pedestrians can both travel freely without conflict.  

San Diego’s new Pershing Bikeway connects the diverse North Park neighborhood to bike lanes near downtown through Balboa Park. The final 2.3-mile project includes a combined two-way protected bike lane connecting to a separate bike path which then connects to one-way protected bike lanes. The bikeway creates a more comfortable and convenient way for people of all ages and abilities to travel while providing an important link in San Diego’s growing connected bike network. 

Madison is expanding access to close-to-home recreation for thousands of local residents thanks to the recently completed singletrack trails through Sycamore Park. The 1.5-mile “adventure trail” features natural surfaces optimized for biking. Portions of the trail are covered in a natural stone chip seal surface while others are made up of native soil, wood, and stone. While communities on the west and south sides of Madison have access to many miles of singletrack, this new section of trail expands riding opportunities on the east side of the city, where trail access was previously scarce.


Is there a local bike project in your community that needs support? Explore our interactive map to identify projects in your area and let us know if we need to add a new project to our list. You can also explore our tools and resources to help advance more bike projects in your backyard. PeopleForBikes is committed to making sure every one of the more than 1,800 projects in our database is constructed to share the countless benefits of safe, fun, and connected places to ride with millions of people across the U.S.

Bike Projects Are Benefiting Communities Nationwide

Last month, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released its 2023 Shared Micromobility Report, breaking down station-based bike share and dockless e-scooter and e-bike ridership in North America in 2023 while offering recommendations on how cities can plan for the long-term viability of their systems.


Surpassing the previous record set in 2019, more people took shared micromobility trips in 2023 than in any other year.


At 157 million, total shared micromobility (SMM) trips increased by 20% over 2022, far surpassing the 2019 peak of 147 million trips. In Canada, SMM trips increased by an impressive 40% with 24 million trips in 2023. In the U.S., 133 million trips were taken last year — up 16% from 2022.

Station-based bike usage continues to increase, driven by the growing popularity of e-bikes.

The U.S. saw a total of 61 million station-based bike share trips in 2023, up from 53 million in 2022. Station-based trips taken by electric bicycle (e-bike) increased from 20 million trips in 2022 to 28 million trips in 2023, a substantial 40% growth. E-bike trips represented 46% of all station-based bike share trips. 

Canada saw a total of 20 million trips on station-based bikes in 2023, compared to 15 million in 2022. Differing from the U.S., this growth was largely due to station-based traditional (non-electric) bike rides. Canadians took 15 million trips on traditional bikes in 2023, increasing by nearly 40% from 2022.

Prices are rising, making shared micromobility more expensive compared to other public transit options, highlighting the need for accessible pricing models for every rider.

Shared micromobility riders often bear the brunt of paying sales tax on their trip, unlike other forms of public transportation. While income-based discounts offer substantial savings to those living below the federal poverty level, with the cost of living increasing for all, shared micromobility is moving further and further out of reach for working and middle class families.

Thankfully, the popularity of more-affordable annual or monthly pass options has significantly increased in recent years. Since 2019, annual pass sales have increased by 20% or more in places like Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Toronto. 


Infrastructure that supports safe bike and scooter share riding leads to increased ridership. 

It’s proven through research and practice that the build-out of connected and safe bike infrastructure motivates people to ride more. Cities that invest in safe bike infrastructure see the greatest increase in shared micromobility ridership year after year. 


A study conducted in Hamilton, Ontario, showed that increases in bicycling were greatest on concrete-barrier-protected bike lanes and other protected infrastructure on arterial streets well connected to other protected biking routes.

Public funding is vital for keeping shared micromobility programs sustainable.

The existence of shared micromobility programs continues to be threatened by financial instability. Public funding, foundation support, and longer-term sponsorships are necessary for sustainable systems. 

In the last few years, systems across the country (including Nice Ride in Minneapolis, Houston BCycle, RedBike in Cincinnati, and This Machine in Tulsa) have shut down because of a lack of sustainable funding. With these closures, it’s becoming abundantly clear that shared micromobility systems require dedicated public investment to provide stable, reliable service. 


When bike share systems first launched, few places considered it to be a form of public transportation. Cities often relied on outside operators to fund these mobility options. Now, 15 years after the first bike share system opened in North America, shared micromobility is no longer an experiment — it's a proven and vital piece of many cities' transportation systems. Unfortunately, funding is still unstable in many places. 

Shared micromobility is an essential transportation service. The Better Bike Share Partnership is taking this opportunity to highlight success stories and advocate for more support of bike and scooter share systems through increased public investment, the construction of safe and connected infrastructure, the creation of sustainable partnerships with system sponsors, and setting clear plans for long-term growth.


Last year, David Zipper highlighted the issue of expecting bike share to operate without subsidy in an article published in Fast Company. The North American Bike and Scooter Share Association has hosted webinars and industry conversations (which can be found here, here, and here) on the role local, state, and federal governments should play in funding shared micromobility. Now, we have NACTO’s 2023 report reinforcing these conversations by calling out that “it is more important than ever to secure sustainable funding models for shared micromobility programs.”


As ridership and popularity of shared micromobility only continues to grow, we must capitalize opportunities to stabilize bike and scooter share systems through sustained public investment and work with cities to safeguard the future of their shared micromobility systems. 


You can access NACTO’s full 2023 report here.


The Better Bike Share Partnership is funded by The JPB Foundation as a collaboration between the City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), and  PeopleForBikes to build equitable and replicable bike share systems. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or sign up for our weekly newsletter.

NACTO’s 2023 Shared Micromobility Report Highlights Need for Partnerships and Public Investment

Each year, PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings program evaluates thousands of communities worldwide on the quality of their low-stress bike networks through our Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA). Over time, we’ve seen many cities across the U.S. improve their City Ratings scores. While all score improvements are worthy of recognition, several cities achieved incredible increases in just a few years, showcasing the impact of investments in bike networks and supportive policies that create great places to ride.

Which cities have seen the highest score increases over time? City Ratings data reveals that 39 U.S. cities boosted their scores by at least 20 points since 2020 through the implementation of specific projects that align with our SPRINT principles: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data. 

Note: Although City Ratings began in 2018, PeopleForBikes refined the program in 2020 to reflect actual speed limits for cities, resulting in some changes to scores between 2018 and 2020.


Learn how you can support bike projects in your area that can increase your community’s City Rating Score. Through the Great Bike Infrastructure Project, we’re tracking progress on thousands of projects nationwide.

Policy changes also play a key role in improving scores. Our Legislative Strategies Guide for Safe and Connected Bike Infrastructure outlines policies that create great bike networks, including increased state and local funding for bike infrastructure, Complete Streets mandates, and lower speeds. These policies are critical, as most U.S. cities have a lot of work to do to truly become great places for biking. 

Read on to learn which cities achieved the most dramatic score increases between 2020 and 2024.

Minneapolis' score surged from 17 to 71, leading large U.S. cities for the second year in a row. Key factors include speed limit reductions, OpenStreetMap data improvements, and the construction of protected bike lanes like those on Bryant Avenue South, which was featured as one of our Best New Bike Lanes of 2023. 

Not to be outdone by its neighbor, Minneapolis, Saint Paul jumped from a score of just 9 in 2020 to 61 in 2024 thanks to lowered speed limits and projects like the Jackson Street Reconstruction Project, which added safe bicycle facilities as part of the city’s Capital City Bikeway System. With the city planning to add more than 100 new miles of protected bike lanes, Saint Paul’s score is sure to increase in the coming years. 


Learn more about Jackson’s improvements, including those led by the local advocacy group Friends of Pathways, here. 

In 2023, Bloomington reduced speed limits for all neighborhood streets to 25 miles per hour, contributing to a 17-point increase in its City Ratings score. In recent years, Bloomington also expanded its network of neighborhood greenways and constructed numerous road-adjacent shared-use paths and protected bike lanes like the 7-Line, which made our list of the Best New Bike Lanes in 2022. 

Aurora was ahead of most American cities back in 2016, when the city installed a protected bike lane on River Street to close a critical gap in the regional Fox River Trail system. Since then, Aurora increased its score to 50, partially thanks to updated speed limit data in OpenStreetMap.

While it's perhaps not surprising for Minneapolis, the highest-rated large city for biking in the U.S., to have suburbs with good bike networks, it’s always encouraging to see suburban communities climbing the ranks of bike-friendly places. Saint Louis Park, a community of 50,000 people to the west of Minneapolis, increased its score from 15 to 55 over the past four years by lowering its default speed limit to 20 miles per hour and filling in bike network gaps through their Connect the Park program.

In 2022, Corvallis’ city staff updated its OpenStreetMap data to accurately reflect existing bicycle infrastructure, including its Active Travel Corridors, which reduce cut-through traffic, creating a citywide network of safe places to bike. 


Key West enhanced its bike network with several projects, including improvements to the Crosstown Greenway and Staples Avenue bicycle and pedestrian bridge. In 2020, speed limits in the city’s Old Town neighborhood were also lowered to 20 miles per hour, creating a safer environment for all road users.

Although Coeur D’Alene hasn’t yet a score of 50 yet, the city already has 50 miles of multi-use paths, including the popular Centennial, Prairie, and Atlas, trails, as well as more than 64 miles of bike lanes. Thanks to its Complete Streets policy, the city intends to complete another 25 miles of bike paths and 32 miles of bike lanes to further improve its network in the coming years.


After reducing the citywide speed limit to 25 miles per hour in 2016, Somerville further reduced speed limits on most residential streets to 20 miles per hour in 2020 and 2021. The city also made forward progress on its envisioned bike network through projects like the Somerville Community Path Extension and Somerville Avenue.


Following Cambridge’s 2020 Cycling Safety Ordinance, the city greatly expanded its bike network. As one of our 2024 Cities on the Rise, you can read more about Cambridge’s work to improve bicycling here.

2025 Cities on the Rise Candidates — Honorable Mentions


While that rounds out the most dramatic score increases over the past four years, numerous communities also increased their BNA scores by at least 20 points during the same period, including:


From Minneapolis' impressive 54-point surge to improvements in smaller towns, these advancements highlight the critical role that strategic investments in bike infrastructure and supportive policies like lower speed limits and Complete Streets mandates play in creating low-stress bike networks and making cities great places to ride a bike. 


Join us in supporting these efforts and stay informed about PeopleForBikes' initiatives to support better biking by signing up for PeopleForBikes’ newsletter and Action Alert program.

Featured Image: Inside Utrecht's Central Station Bike Garage.

In his role as international relations manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris Bruntlett spends a lot of time talking about best practices for implementing biking infrastructure. 


Bruntlett says that a lot of his dialogue with peers on the front lines of urban renewal in cities such as Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Austin centers on the word “accessibility.” For Bruntlett, that means, “As cities build out new trams, trains, and bus lines, they really should be thinking from the very start about how to improve the accessibility of the station.”


Part of that equation relates to the number of people able to walk to stations and stops within a half-mile to a mile radius. “If you can cycle or take a scooter to the station, then we're suddenly talking about a four or five kilometer (2-3 mile) catchment area — that's 30 times more passengers that can access that one station,” Bruntlett says.

Bruntlett points out that the payback for improving bike access to these stations is a competitive edge that you give to your public transportation system. He says that to achieve that objective, among other things, “you have to design your (biking) network to feed into your public transport facility. You have to provide secure, free bike parking there, which is the strategy that's done here (in the Netherlands). Then, you need to have a rental bike or a shared bike on the other end of your journey for the last-mile solution.”

Where Big Sweeping (Biking) Gestures Take Place


Although Denmark may disagree, the Dutch Cycling Embassy’s website boldly declares that the Netherlands is “the world’s number one cycling country.” Building on the country’s experience of creating and constantly improving biking infrastructure since the 70s, the Embassy has a declared mandate to “facilitate cycling worldwide as the most modern, efficient, and sustainable method of transport.” 


So it comes with high praise that the city of Utrecht readily comes to mind when you ask Bruntlett which Dutch city is a shining example of how to create a unique synergy between public transit and biking. In this year’s PeopleForBikes City Ratings, Utrecht boasts an impressive score of 86 out of a possible 100, placing it third overall out of 170 large cities worldwide. 


“The special thing about Utrecht, which is why you know it’s one of the best examples in the Netherlands if not the world, is it does these sweeping gestures, like the biggest bike parking (garage) in the world, the car-free (district of) Merwede, and the school with the cycle path on the roof,” says Bruntlett.

“But (Utrecht) also does the little details well,” he says, including the creation of neighborhood bike parking facilities which are strategically dispersed throughout the city center. The facilities, in tandem with the massive central station garage, underpin the Dutch planning mindset that every bike ride should begin and end with a place to park your bike. 


My most recent Utrecht bike tour in June of this year began just outside the massive, three-story bike parking garage at Central Station, which can accommodate 12,500 bicycles, making it, as already mentioned, the largest facility of its kind in the world. If that’s not impressive enough, the total bike parking capacity tops out at around 30,000 spots when you factor in adjacent garages. Numbers which help explain the constant beehive activity of bikes constantly entering and exiting the garage. 

My guide Ronald Tamse is not just a guide but also a traffic engineer and urban planner with the City of Utrecht. As we watch bikes shuttle back and forth at street level, he shares with me how this section of the garage has purposely been left open so that people can either stop and park or keep going if they’re en route to another destination. 


He also says the lower, basement level connects directly with the train station, enabling you to park your bike and quickly access the platforms. Before the main bike parking garage was built, the area surrounding the train station was overwhelmed with parked bikes. However, thanks to a massive investment in bike parking, that challenge has been addressed — at least for now.


“In a couple of years the 30,000 spots won’t be enough,” Tamse says, due to the ever increasing number of people using bicycles as a means of transportation within the city. So much so that there is a growing consensus to no longer keep expanding bike parking at the station but to decentralize the city’s infrastructure dedicated to this task. 


Tamse says adding more spots around the train station isn’t any different than the challenges posed by expanding roads to accommodate more cars. “It just attracts more cars. And here, if we keep adding more bike parking at the station it will just fill up,” he says. “The (bike) routes going to the train station are already at the maximum of what they can handle.”


According to Tamse, the answer is smaller (by Dutch standards) parking garages with capacities ranging from 200 to 2,000 strategically located throughout the city adjacent to transit stops. Accentuating the rising demand for safe bike storage, “More and more people are investing in expensive bikes and e-bikes, so we need more guarded parking areas,” he says, opposed to parking in outdoor spots more susceptible to theft. 

Turning our attention back to the central bike garage, I discover that the reason cyclists are able to enter and exit so quickly is the bike paths run not just in and out, but throughout the facility with gently sloping ramps that enable you to access each level while still riding.

As Bruntlett had shared before my trip, optical sensors are used — much like the technology in some car parking garages — to inform patrons of vacant parking spots and guide them to the actual location via a digital wayfinding system. 


The footprint of this massive facility is about 184,000 square feet, equivalent to Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center in scale. A critical design component that essentially doubles the bike capacity of this space is a two-tier parking system known as 2ParkUp, featuring gas-assisted lifts and protective sleeves to prevent frame damage.


As we depart from the station, we cross over one of the city’s many canals. So many that it is sometimes hard to distinguish one from another. What makes the Catharijnesingel canal so unique, however, is that it was once covered  by a 12-lane motorway, dating back to the 70s. A period when not unlike most North American cities, Utrecht’s priorities were focused on making it easier for cars to get in and out of the city. 


In hindsight, “it was an urban planning mistake,” says Tamse, which 40 years later was rectified by daylighting the 900-year old moat so that today, it has been returned to its natural setting with an abundance of greenspace. Yet there is still enough room to accommodate walking and bike lanes on both sides of the canal; and while currently two car lanes remain, “they will be blocked by the end of this year,” adds Tamse. Only those with a special permit (e.g. for deliveries) will be allowed to enter. 


The 360 degree transformation back to a canal is especially remarkable considering that it leads directly to the city’s main shopping center, the Hoog Catharijne Mall. Most North American retailers might shake their heads at the notion of making it more difficult to access the shopping center, based on the all-too-common perception of retail owners that those arriving by automobile will spend more money. 


Yet, in the wake of this transformation, Utrecht has found the opposite holds true. “You can take a look at someone who goes by car and as a shop owner, point to the trunk of that person's car and say, ‘look, he bought a lot of stuff.’ But that person is only coming once a week — going by bike or by foot, you're willing to go much more often and absolutely spend more money,” says Tamse


Throughout Utrecht, as in other Dutch cities, red asphalt is used for the cycle paths, serving as a visual reminder for drivers and pedestrians that this is the public domain of cyclists only. 


Nowhere is this more readily apparent than on the Tolsteegsingel and Maliesingel Streets. As we ride on the one bike path heading out of town, there is an equally steady flow of cyclists on the opposite side of the street. The remaining center lane, sandwiched by the two bike lanes, is for cars. 


Previously, this road was completely dominated by cars, with zero space for bikes. Then, in the 70s as the Dutch biking culture began to kick in, one cycling lane was added that was approximately 1.5 meters (3.2 feet) wide — only enough to accommodate a single person on their bike. 


Fast forward to today and each lane is now approximately 2 meters wide, enabling cyclists to bike side-by-side making it easier and safer for friends or family members to navigate the streets together. “And the single car lane is bi-directional,” Tamse points out. 

All of which makes for an interesting dynamic because the single road forces car drivers who choose to travel on this inconvenient stretch in the first place to slow down, especially when another vehicle is approaching from the opposite direction because as everyone on the road knows, the safety of the cyclists is what comes first. 


Yet another consideration that has gone into the makeup of this road is that while the red cycle paths have been built using a smooth asphalt surface, the car lane is made of bricks. This difference in materials is intentional. The smooth bike lane contributes to “comfort for cycling,” Tamse says.“We know by nationwide research, that a car on bricks, because of the rumbling and the noise, we drive slower.”

The last part of our journey takes us to a Zusterpark, a linear park on the edge of the downtown core. There are no cars to be seen along this stretch, only cyclists heading in and out of town on the designated bike path, with a separate trail for pedestrians. Perpendicular to this stretch is another bike lane and a dedicated bike tunnel (beneath a road overpass) out of which the occasional cyclist emerges. 


“This is a former railway line on the east side of the downtown area which used to be a barrier between two neighborhoods,” Tamse explains. The main railway is on the west side and when this particular stretch was no longer in use, the line was transformed into a park, creating Utrecht’s version of a high line, or perhaps more appropriately, a low line since it is at ground level. The fundamental difference, which should come as no surprise, is that it is also extremely bike friendly. 



Having grown up in Utrecht and witnessed its transformation from a car-centric city to one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world, Tamse says his hometown’s dramatic transformation has come about by a lot of small changes made over decades. Changes ranging from prioritizing road infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians to implementing paid car parking (to disincentivize drivers) and creating safe bicycle routes so people are more willing to cycle.

There is a cultural factor that comes into play as well, he says. Starting from an early age, kids are encouraged to get on their bikes with parents riding along. 

“Parents bring their kids to elementary school by bike, and then they can cycle on to their office or wherever your job is. So your kid learns to cycle quickly and (as a result) can cycle on their own to elementary school, which saves time for you as a parent.”

Utrecht's Constant Commitment to Make Biking Better

Photo Credit: Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority

PeopleForBikes’ 2024 City Ratings feature comprehensive rankings for more than 2,500 cities from across the world on the quality of their bike networks. With seven years of City Ratings results, we’ve tracked the progress of cities nationwide on improving bicycling in their communities. This year, we’re proud to celebrate Cities on the Rise, all of which improved their City Ratings scores in recent years thanks to investments in making their streets safe, fun, and connected places to ride. 


Three of our 2024 Cities on the Rise share a common trait outside of their dedication to better biking — they’re all Midwest college towns. Ames, Iowa, increased its City Ratings score from 40 (out of a possible 100) in 2020 to 66 in 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, improved its score from 50 in 2020 to 58 in 2024; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, rose from a score of 40 in 2020 to a score of 46 in 2024.


Public input plays a significant role in the planning and improvement of Ames' bike network. Photo Credit: Toole Design

Home of Iowa State University, nearly half of Ames’ population is college students, with an enrollment of 30,177 in fall of 2023. With such a large non-driving population, Ames wants to make sure everyone has safe options for getting around.

“From a planning and zoning perspective, our housing, services, and other facilities are heavily driven by the student population,” says Damion Pregitzer, traffic engineer for the City of Ames. “For a lot of trips during the week, students are walking or biking from where they live to class and other destinations.”


In response to the need for safe biking routes, Ames’ recent five-year Capital Improvements Plan includes a significant chunk of funding for bike projects, with an average of at least $1.3 million allocated to bike infrastructure improvements each year. Ames is also lucky enough to be considered a metropolitan area in Iowa, giving city officials access to better transportation planning tools to evaluate street stress levels and direct funding to areas most in need of investment. 


“As a university town, we’ve always supported new technologies,” Pregitzer says. “All of our signalized intersections have advanced bike and ped detection. There’s no intersection in town that cannot be activated by a pedestrian or bike.”


When it comes to what lessons Ames can offer other cities looking to improve, Pregitzer says slow and steady wins the race.

“The big thing is trying to make steady progress. Other communities in Iowa have tried to do one big flashy project that costs a lot of money, but that’s not what makes the change,” he says. “Look where your gaps are in your network and prioritize them. Find that unmet need where folks can/should bike and walk and put in the infrastructure where it benefits people the most.”

Wisconsin’s capital city is also home to the state’s largest university, with more than 48,000 students attending University of Wisconsin Madison. Sandwiched between two large lakes, there are only a few ways to get in and out of the downtown city core, an issue that bikes can play a key role in solving.

“Decades ago, the city decided there wouldn’t be a freeway into the city center. More recently, the city said publicly what everyone already knew — you cannot have everyone drive into the city center, so you have to prioritize other transportation,” says Robbie Webber, who serves on the board of directors for Madison Bikes, a local bike advocacy group. “With a huge number of people trying to access a small amount of space squeezed between two lakes, you have to find ways to move people around.”

When it comes to the great work Madison has done to improve biking in recent years, Webber points to the dedication of city leadership in championing the power of bikes.


“There have been a lot of infrastructure projects, but one of the big changes that took place was in 2019 when we elected our new mayor who believes in prioritizing transportation other than driving. We also hired a transportation director who is a year-round bike commuter and understands personally what is needed to make the city bike friendly,” Webber says. “A lot of our city staff are on their bikes every day, and you can’t get that knowledge just from talking to people. You have to live it.”


As a city alder, Webber also says the voices and opinions of community members play a big role in moving bike initiatives forward. She points out that too often, the only people coming to local meetings are those against a certain project, and that Bike Madison has put a lot of effort into getting those in favor of pro-bike projects to attend meetings and make their support known.


“You never know when your words or actions are going to inspire someone else,” she says. “You could be at a neighborhood meeting saying, ‘I bike to work, and this new bike lane is important to me.’ That could push someone else to say ‘Hey, I care too!’”


In response to one of the most common arguments against the installation of bike infrastructure — Why would we install a bike lane here? No one bikes on this street! — Webber offers up some delightfully cheeky words of wisdom, “Well, you don’t decide where to put in a community swimming pool by seeing where people are showing up with swimsuits.”


For other local advocates looking to make a difference in their communities, Webber says you can’t be afraid to speak up — communicate how people can get involved and make their voices heard.

Despite a strong local bike culture, there was not a single protected bike lane on the streets of Ann Arbor five years ago. Following the success of a two-way protected bike lane installed on William Street in the fall of 2019, the city recognized the real potential of giving people more options to move around outside of getting in the car and began building out its bike network.

Today, miles of protected bike lanes and countless gallons of green paint later, Ann Arbor is seeing its hard work pay off. 

“I’ve been able to utilize Ann Arbor’s new bikeways to get to and from school,” says Amy Boeving, a recent high school graduate who will be attending the University of Michigan later this year. “I feel really comfortable biking in Ann Arbor, thanks to the visibility with green paint, bollards, and two-way bike lanes, it’s become really easy to navigate.”

“There’s been a groundswell of local enthusiasm for bicycling,” adds Doug French, who does communications work for the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, a local advocacy group. “There’s a lot of momentum and people caring about making the city more bike friendly.”


With the development of a citywide transportation plan — Ann Arbor Moving Together Towards Vision Zero — Nate Phipps, a co-founder of the Bike Alliance of Washtenaw, says the expansion of Ann Arbor’s bike network has included a lot of thoughtful decision making.

“The creation of new bike lanes is not coincidental. If even one block of your commute feels dangerous, you’re not going to bike,” Phipps says, noting the importance of filling in network gaps to make sure everyone feels comfortable moving around by bike. “We are really focused on the continuity and connectivity of our bike lanes.”


Like many cities across the Midwest, Ann Arbor certainly isn’t known for what most people would consider ideal “biking weather” during the winter months. But that doesn’t stop locals from continuing to get on their bikes 12 months out of the year.

“You don’t need good weather to have a good bike community,” says Suzette Wanninkhof, an organizer of Ann Arbor’s Bike Party, which has been bringing cycling enthusiasts together for community group rides for the last 10 years. “We even hold a ‘Worst Day of the Year Ride’ every January. There’s so much you can do to keep the fun going all year long.”

These Midwest College Towns Are Making Big Strides for Better Biking

Topics

City Riding

PeopleForBikes at Work on City Riding

News

Building the Future of Biking in Los Angeles

Bike Projects Are Benefiting Communities Nationwide

NACTO’s 2023 Shared Micromobility Report Highlights Need for Partnerships and Public Investment

2024’s Most Improved Cities for Biking

Utrecht's Constant Commitment to Make Biking Better

These Midwest College Towns Are Making Big Strides for Better Biking