In 2025, the United States reached a milestone that once felt unlikely: an estimated 4,400 directional miles of protected bike lanes and road-adjacent side paths nationwide, spanning nearly every state. This estimate, developed by PeopleForBikes, is the first recent national snapshot of protected bike lane mileage at scale in the U.S., reflecting decades of advocacy, policy change, and local leadership.

From a Handful of Cities to a National Network

Just a decade ago, protected bike lanes were far from mainstream in the U.S. Today, they’re increasingly common, helping make streets safer and biking a more accessible form of transportation and recreation for people of all ages and abilities.

The growth of protected bike lanes in U.S. cities is closely tied to PeopleForBikes’ origin. In the 1990s, bike industry leaders formed Bikes Belong, which evolved into what is now PeopleForBikes, in an effort to leverage federal funding for the creation of bicycle infrastructure. At the same time, transportation leaders in big cities nationwide were having similar conversations. Those discussions led to the creation of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), giving cities a place to learn from one another, push for smarter national policy, and take the lead on how our streets are designed. In 2011, NACTO published the Urban Bikeway Design Guide, a practical manual for engineers to implement safer bike lanes.  The guide helped shift protected bike lanes from what some considered “experimental” to a standard practice in communities from coast to coast.

To complement the release of the new guide, PeopleForBikes launched the Green Lane Project in 2012. At the time, protected bike lanes existed in only a handful of U.S. cities: New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago, among others. In 2013, there were only 24 protected bike lanes nationwide. By 2015, that number grew to more than 270, doubling roughly every two years through 2017.

As more protected bike lanes were installed, cities shifted their focus from individual projects to fully connected networks that tie into local trails and quieter neighborhood streets, making biking safer and more accessible.

PeopleForBikes tested that idea in 2017 with the Big Jump, working alongside 10 U.S. cities willing to rethink biking at the neighborhood scale. Efforts focused on building connected bike networks that supported daily trips and deepening community engagement, not just installing isolated bike lanes. Cities that followed this approach saw dramatic gains, with local ridership doubling (and in some cases, tripling).

Several years later, through PeopleForBikes’ Final Mile program, cities like Austin and Denver built hundreds of miles of protected lanes and network connections in just three years, more than three times the per-capita rate of comparable cities. In city after city, the pattern was the same.

Across both programs, cities moved faster and built more bike lanes when political leadership, local advocacy, and practical design expertise aligned. Dozens of other U.S. cities followed quickly behind.

Voters also show strong local support year after year, funding the expansion of bike networks by approving more than $49 billion in state and local funding for recreation and active transportation projects since 2019. PeopleForBikes’ VoteForBikes program helps communities turn that support into action by connecting with voters, shaping ballot measures, and securing funding for safer, more connected bike networks.

But protected bike lanes are only part of the story. Thousands of miles of rail-trails, greenways, and mountain bike routes also crisscross the country. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy estimates that over the past two decades, known rail-trail mileage has grown from about 12,000 miles to more than 25,000, while the broader category of mapped multi-use trails (including rail-trails) expanded from roughly 25,000 miles in 2013 to more than 42,500 miles today. This growth reflects both new trail construction and improved documentation of previously unmapped trails. Linked to protected bike lanes, these trails open the door to more everyday trips, weekend rides, and everything in between.

This same pattern is evident in PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings. As protected bike lanes began to link together into real networks, more cities crossed the critical threshold score of 50, the tipping point to becoming a great place to bike. In those places, people can ride to work, school, or daily errands without being forced into dangerous network gaps.

Measuring a Growing Network at a National Scale

With these pieces in place, protected bike lanes spread quickly over the past five years. With that growth came a new challenge: measuring the now thousands of miles of protected bike lanes accurately at a national scale.

Tracking projects by hand was no longer feasible. To solve this issue, PeopleForBikes developed a Protected Bike Lane Inventory in 2025 using OpenStreetMap data and a geometry-based method that distinguishes on-road protected lanes and road-adjacent side paths from off-street trails. By layering map data with spatial factors like road proximity and alignment, this method provides an estimate of protected bike lanes and road-adjacent side paths nationwide. Counting directional miles also helps reflect what riders experience on the ground.

Put together, the data points to about 4,400 directional miles of protected bike lanes across the U.S. as of 2025 — a forty-fold increase since 2000. No dataset captures everything, but this approach comes closer than anything before to showing both how much has been built and where work still needs to be done.

In 2000, there were an estimated 108 directional miles of protected bike lanes in the United States. In 2020, the miles of U.S. protected bike lanes grew to about 800. By 2025, that number was estimated to have grown to approximately 4,400. Directional mileage measures bikeways by direction of travel. If protected bike lanes run on both sides of a street, or if a bi-directional protected lane exists on one side, each direction is counted separately and summed to produce the total mileage.

Anyone can help improve the picture. By updating OpenStreetMap with new protected lanes or adding details like directionality, contributors make it easier to see where networks are growing and where gaps still exist.

While 4,400 miles marks real progress, many European cities remain decades ahead. The Netherlands’ bike networks grew out of the Stop de Kindermoord movement in the 1970s, when parents pushed back against streets that had become dangerous for children. In 2007, political leaders in Seville, Spain, committed to building a 50-mile bike network and completed it in under two years. In London and Paris, the Olympic Games created hard deadlines, political will, and funding opportunities that helped both cities quickly build robust bike networks.

The U.S. has taken a longer, more fragmented path. After years of advocacy, connected bike networks are finally taking shape as communities learn to adapt what worked elsewhere to fit their own local politics, street layouts, and funding realities. Programs like the Green Lane Project, The Big Jump, and Final Mile helped translate those ideas into real projects that could succeed in American cities and towns of all sizes.

The results are visible: safer streets, stronger business districts, more transportation choices, and reduced congestion for those who choose to drive.

As protected lanes and trails continue to connect into larger systems, this milestone is a starting point for the next phase of work — one focused less on proving the concept and more on getting to work building places where safer, more livable streets are simply the norm.

The cities that continue making progress tend to focus on the same basics: they slow traffic, build protected lanes, fix intersections, and connect gaps to create easily accessible networks.

Trusted data also plays an important role. Cities that track what they’ve built and keep OpenStreetMap data up to date have a much clearer sense of what’s working and where the next investments will make the biggest difference. That combination of design, policy, and feedback is captured in PeopleForBikes’ SPRINT framework.

Cities that get these fundamentals right tend to see the same results: ridership grows faster, public support holds up over time, and biking becomes an option for more everyday trips. The jump to 4,400 miles shows what can happen when those conditions line up.

Every vote, every city plan, and every mapped mile helps the U.S. move closer to the safer streets seen in places like the Netherlands, Seville, and Paris. You can be a part of making biking better for everyone across America by becoming a PeopleForBikes Foundation member. Join us today.

4,400 Miles and Counting: How the U.S. Built a Protected Bike Lane Movement

When it comes to transportation, nothing is more important than safety. PeopleForBikes believes that communities are happier, healthier, and better places to live when all road users — whether they are walking, rolling, biking, taking transit, or driving — can get to their destination safely.

Right now, Congress is writing a critical piece of legislation that will determine how much the federal government invests in bike infrastructure for the next five to six years. The decisions made in this bill will directly affect where people can ride, how safe those rides are, and the strength of the U.S. bike market well into the future.

“Safe, connected biking and walking infrastructure protects families and neighborhoods and supports local economies through trails, tourism, small business support, and more,” said Jenn Dice, president and CEO of PeopleForBikes. “As Congress writes the next surface transportation bill, the U.S. bicycle industry is calling on lawmakers to invest in infrastructure that supports access to safe biking and walking in local communities across the country.”

Congress is working toward presenting bipartisan bills in both chambers by spring 2026. This will be an ambitious timeline for this massive legislation, which must be signed into law before September 30, 2026. While lawmakers have expressed a commitment to a collaborative, bipartisan process, key policy decisions on biking and walking infrastructure remain unresolved.

What is clear is that Americans across the political spectrum recognize the importance of safe, accessible streets. A recent Ipsos survey found that 76% of respondents agreed their communities would be better if bicycling were safer and more comfortable, including 73% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats, and 74% of Independents.

This broad support underscores a huge market opportunity: Americans want safer streets, which means more riders and more business for the bike industry. PeopleForBikes is working to ensure that Congress hears this message loud and clear.

For bike businesses, infrastructure investment is more than a nice-to-have policy win — it’s a proven growth strategy. Every federal dollar invested in bike infrastructure builds communities where people ride more, directly supporting bike retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers nationwide.

More safe places to ride directly translates to better bike business. PeopleForBikes data shows that communities with better bike networks have more bike shops and higher sales.

Investing in safe places to ride also expands the bicycle industry's market in the short and long term. In the short term, safe bike infrastructure attracts new customers by incentivizing some people to switch their commutes or other transportation trips from car to bike and by encouraging more families to get on bikes for weekend recreational rides. In the long term, providing safe places to ride for everyone means more children can enjoy bicycling from a young age and grow into lifelong enthusiasts who will ride more often, buy more bikes, and visit their local bike shops regularly.

The data shows this strategy is working. U.S. bike infrastructure has vastly improved in recent years. As a result, more than 112 million Americans rode a bike in 2024 — the highest number on record. PeopleForBikes is continuing this momentum and urging Congress to continue funding safe, connected places to ride.

To date, PeopleForBikes has held dozens of meetings with key lawmakers to shape the bill's outcome. You can read more about our engagement on this major legislation here.

PeopleForBikes also joined key partners, including the League of American Bicyclists, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, and the Safe Routes to School Partnership, in organizing a campaign and letter to Congress in support of bike infrastructure funding. The goal of the campaign is to demonstrate nationwide support for biking and walking infrastructure and encourage lawmakers to incorporate that feedback into the legislation. A diverse coalition of more than 1,100 organizations signed on to the letter, demonstrating the overwhelming support for biking and walking infrastructure in every corner of the country.

Specifically, the letter calls for supporting bike infrastructure funding in several federal programs, especially the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). Since its inception in 1992, TAP has been an important source of federal funding for bicycle infrastructure. TAP funds are distributed every year to state and local governments to build projects in communities of all sizes. PeopleForBikes helped write and distribute the letter, and we are working to engage national and local media to amplify the message among key lawmakers.

PeopleForBikes worked with Congress to include significant wins in the previous iteration of this bill, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).

How Can I Help as a Member of the Bike Industry?

We are at a critical juncture in the funding process.  If you’re a bike retailer, manufacturer, or supplier, now is the moment for the industry to speak directly to Congress on this issue.

Contact your senators and representatives to let them know how important bike infrastructure is to your business and community. Reach out to PeopleForBikes Director of Federal Policy Chris Bell at chris@peopleforbikes.org if you would like additional assistance contacting your elected officials. 

PeopleForBikes Calls on Congress to Support Bike Infrastructure Funding

Ferst Drive in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology

2025 was a banner year for better biking as cities across the U.S. moved beyond paint and flex-posts and invested in permanent, people-centered street design. The best bike projects built last year are fully protected, thoughtfully engineered, and tailored to the needs of their communities, making streets safer and easier to navigate for people of all ages and abilities.

These new bike lanes combine physical separation with placemaking, integrating features like public art, landscaping, and transit connections to create vibrant community spaces that benefit everyone, not just those who ride. Together, these projects show how raising the bar for bike infrastructure can strengthen neighborhoods, improve environmental outcomes, and create streets that work better for all members of a community.

Waterfront Bike Lane | Seattle, Washington

Seattle’s new Waterfront Bike Lane. Photo courtesy of the City of Seattle

Seattle’s new 1.2-mile Waterfront Bike Lane reconnected downtown with Elliott Bay after the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Built in the space once occupied by the elevated highway, the corridor now features a two-way protected bike lane, a waterfront promenade, seating areas, and plantings. Cyclists can easily connect to routes along 2nd and 4th Avenues, Spring Street, Elliott Way, Yesler Way, Pike and Pine Streets, and Melrose Avenue. A future extension will tie directly into the Elliott Bay Trail.

The bike lane runs through Pioneer Square, with historic brick buildings, and Belltown, known for dense housing, restaurants, nightlife, and the Olympic Sculpture Park. Along the route, a three-block installation by artist Oscar Tuazon — part of Seattle’s 1% for Art program — adds a series of sculptural posts inspired by traditional longhouse architecture with Indigenous carvings at either end.

The project is one of many Seattle has rolled out in recent years, helping propel the Emerald City from a City Ratings score of 42 in 2019 to 66 in 2025, making it the third-highest-scoring large U.S. city after Brooklyn and Minneapolis.

Slauson Rail-to-Rail Active Transportation Corridor | Los Angeles, California

The Slauson segment of the Rail to River project. Photo courtesy of Sahra Sulaiman via Streetsblog LA

As part of the long-planned Rail-to-River project, Los Angeles turned a neglected right-of-way into a shared-use path lined with hundreds of new trees, bioswales, pedestrian-scale lighting, and bike share stations. The completed Slauson segment of the Rail-to-River project (known as Segment A) stretches 5.5 miles from 67th Street and 11th Avenue to Slauson Station on the Metro A Line.  The path links schools, transit, parks, and businesses, providing a safe, accessible route for both recreation and commuting in South Central Los Angeles.

As local advocates celebrate the project’s success, they continue to push for completion of Segment B before the 2028 Olympics, which would extend farther east to the LA River and create a vital link in a regional network that will ultimately connect South LA to Long Beach and beyond.

Alameda’s West Midway Avenue. Photo courtesy of Maurice Ramirez (City of Alameda)

Before West Midway Avenue’s recent redesign, the corridor had no bike facilities, narrow and disconnected sidewalks, and none of the ADA-compliant or green-infrastructure features now common in people-oriented street design. “West Midway went from a wide, empty roadway to a complete street that finally reflects the kind of community Alameda Point is becoming,” said Rochelle Wheeler, senior transportation planner for the City of Alameda. The upgraded corridor now features a raised two-way protected bikeway, continuous ADA-compliant sidewalks, improved intersections, new lighting, and native landscaping supported by bioswales that help manage stormwater and reduce the risk of flooding.

A key part of the redesign was creating a bikeway that feels intuitive and safe for people of all ages. “Raising the bikeway and tightening the intersections sends a clear message: people biking and walking belong here,” said Wheeler. This segment of West Midway connects directly to protected bikeways on Saratoga Street and West Tower Avenue, with additional segments under construction that will extend the corridor east toward Stargell Avenue and into the rest of Alameda.

The surrounding neighborhood — home to new housing projects, supportive housing, offices, a food bank, restaurants, and active redevelopment sites — is also benefiting from significant sustainability improvements. The street’s new bioswales provide stormwater management and environmental protection in an area especially vulnerable to climate impacts. As Wheeler explains, “For a low-lying island already feeling the impacts of sea level rise, these bioswales aren’t just nice to have — they’re essential infrastructure.” 

Kinsley Avenue | Providence, Rhode Island

The Woonasquatucket River Greenway Improvement Project added a one-mile, shared-use path along Kinsley Avenue, connecting Downtown Providence to nearby Olneyville, closing a missing link in the seven-mile Woonasquatucket River Greenway. The project, which was championed by former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and led by the City of Providence in coordination with the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, added a grade-separated cycle track, traffic calming, an accessible canoe and kayak launch, mini-parks, and nature-based stormwater systems adjacent to the existing river.

These upgrades boost both mobility and recreational opportunities while supporting the neighborhood’s ongoing evolution. In recent years, the Valley area has transitioned from a primarily industrial district to a vibrant mix of industry, restaurants, artist studios, nonprofits, and residential spaces.

“This project is about access. Access to safe transportation, to the river itself, to green space, and to opportunity,” said Alicia Lehrer, executive director of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council. “The moment it opened, people were there. Now, every time I go by, I see others walking, biking, pushing strollers, and stopping to look at the river. It has changed how people use this place.”

Minneapolis’ Hennepin Avenue cycle track. Photo courtesy of Alex Schieferdecker

Minneapolis, ranked as the second-best large U.S. city for biking in PeopleForBikes’ 2025 City Ratings, recently completed a $36.7 million overhaul of Hennepin Avenue South from West Lake Street to Douglas Avenue, adding curb-level protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks, raised medians, traffic calming, upgraded transit infrastructure, decorative lighting, and green stormwater systems.

“Our goal was to balance the needs of all users while supporting the neighborhood and local businesses,” said Alex Schieferdecker, pedestrian and bicycle coordinator for the City of Minneapolis. The new two-way bikeway connects downtown, Uptown, Lake Street, and Bde Maka Ska, linking to the Loring Greenway, Midtown Greenway, and other nearby bike routes. “The City of Minneapolis has begun designing almost all new bikeways as curb-level or on-street curb-protected,” Schieferdecker added. By the end of 2025, the city will have nearly 19 miles of curb-level bikeways and more than nine miles of on-street curb-protected routes.

Wilson Street Corridor | Madison, Wisconsin

Madison’s Wilson Street cycle track. Photo courtesy of the City of Madison

Madison’s Wilson Street redesign added a two-way, curb-level cycle track linking the Capital City Trail and Southwest Path. Structural soil was also added as part of the project to help new street trees thrive.

“Wilson Street was largely without any bike facilities, requiring bikes to occupy a vehicle travel lane on a street with vehicle speeds and volumes that exceeded what is considered comfortable for an all-ages shared street,” said Aaron Canton, an engineer with the City of Madison. “The two-way Wilson Street cycle track creates a safe link between the Capital City Trail and the Southwest Path, providing an alternative to crossing Highway 151 and giving people a far more comfortable way to reach downtown.”

South Main Street | Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia’s South Main Street bike lanes. Photo courtesy of SCDOT

Columbia’s first sidewalk-level protected bike lanes on South Main Street link the Statehouse to the University of South Carolina. The project converted a busy five-lane road into a calmer two-lane street, featuring raised bike lanes, wider sidewalks, shorter crosswalks, and enhanced landscaping for a safer, more inviting experience.

“We realized this was the right place to build the city’s first cycle track because of its visibility and high pedestrian activity,” said Lucinda Statler, the city’s planning administrator. “This corridor carries some of the highest pedestrian counts in the state, especially during class changes,” added Joshua Meetze, program manager at the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). “Reducing the roadway width and providing a protected bike facility significantly improved safety and comfort for people walking and biking.” The redesign also relocated overhead utilities underground, enhancing both safety and the visual character of this civic gateway.

Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the corridor now strengthens key north-south and east-west bike connections in downtown. As Statler put it, the project has become “a separated facility that people are excited about and want to see more of.”

Ferst Drive. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology

Georgia Tech’s new bidirectional cycle track on Ferst Drive links Tech Square and Marietta Street with the 5th Street Complete Streets project in Midtown. The cycle track replaced a narrow, unprotected bike lane with a curb-separated path, floating bus stops, and simplified, safer convergences for all users.

“[Before construction], bus stops all crossed over the bike lane, resulting in dangerous conflicts between bikes, scooters, and buses,” said Jason Gregory, a landscape architect at Georgia Tech. The redesigned corridor now includes floating bus stops, in-lane bus boarding areas, permanent curb separation, and simplified intersections.

The project also highlights how academic research can spark real change on the ground. In 2018, a team of Georgia Tech students studied safety options for Ferst Drive, comparing separated bike lanes to a cycle track. Their findings were later confirmed by traffic engineers and eventually landed on the desk of the City of Atlanta, helping move the concept from classroom analysis to a real transportation project. “The students’ work showed the cycle track reduced conflicts across the entire corridor,” Gregory said.

Today, the Ferst Drive project is a hub in a growing network for bikes, e-bikes, scooters, and skateboards across Georgia Tech’s campus, connecting Georgia Tech to the Midtown Core, a future BeltLine Spur link, and planned routes to Centennial Olympic Park. 

Summer Street | Somerville, Massachusetts

Summer Street. Photo courtesy of the City of Somerville

Somerville, located just northwest of Boston and bordering Cambridge, is steadily building one of the most complete urban bike networks in the country. With a City Ratings score of 63 — compared to Cambridge’s 68 and Boston’s 35 — the city is closing the gap through strong policy commitments, strategic infrastructure investments, and careful coordination with utility and public works projects.

Before its recent redesign, the city’s Summer Street saw about 8,000 cars a day, with more than half of them travelling faster than 25 miles per hour. The corridor had narrow sidewalks, minimal bike markings, and wide, hard-to-cross intersections. The city’s rebuild changed that experience entirely. Today, Summer Street features half-raised curb-protected bike lanes, raised crosswalks, mid-block speed humps, chicanes, and generous curb extensions that naturally slow traffic and make walking and biking safer.

The project also paired street improvements with a major sewer replacement, allowing the city to stretch construction dollars further. By coordinating the work, Somerville was able to add nearly 200 new trees, install stormwater gardens, and bring long-term green infrastructure benefits to the neighborhood without inflating costs.

“Reducing vehicle speeds and improving safety for all road users was our top priority,” said Brad Rawson, director of Somerville’s Mobility Division. “By coordinating with the sewer and utility work, we significantly reduced costs while reimagining the streetscape to prioritize walking, rolling, and biking,” added Senior Project Manager Dan Amelin, Nick Alakel, construction public information officer, noted, “These stormwater gardens serve a dual purpose — they calm traffic while enhancing the neighborhood’s aesthetic appeal.”

Early results are promising. Traffic volumes on Summer Street dropped by more than 30%, and speeding vehicles decreased from 55% to 19%. 

Looking ahead, Somerville plans to continue implementation of its Safe Streets Ordinance, which mandates a 30-mile network of protected bike lanes by 2030, alongside pedestrian and transit upgrades.

Market Street + The Lynnway | Lynn, Massachusetts

The nearly complete Northern Strand Trail extension in Lynn. Photo courtesy of Bike to the Sea

Trailnet’s vision for a connected bike network linking neighborhoods, jobs, parks, and other destinations is becoming a reality as projects like the Tower Grove Connector break ground across the city. (Image courtesy of Trailnet). 

In 2018, PeopleForBikes invested $10,000 in a citywide campaign to build a safe, connected bike network for people of all ages and abilities in St. Louis, Missouri. Led by Trailnet — a St. Louis-based nonprofit working to make walking and biking a way of life through better infrastructure, education, and advocacy — the effort is now transforming how residents and visitors move around the city.

St. Louis is one of dozens of U.S. cities using PeopleForBikes’ resources to guide investments that make biking safer and more efficient for everyday travel.

Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan created a bold, community-driven vision for a connected, low-stress bikeway network linking neighborhoods, jobs, parks, transit, and other key destinations. Today, that vision is shifting from advocacy to on-the-ground change.

“When we released the Connecting St. Louis Plan in 2019, we wanted to spark momentum,” said Chantal Incandela, Trailnet’s director of marketing and communications. “We’re now seeing that momentum turn into concrete, protected infrastructure that truly changes people’s everyday experience of moving through the city.”

Expanding St. Louis’ Low-Stress Bike Network Downtown

Construction recently began on the Tucker Boulevard Cycle Track, a two-way protected bike lane stretching nearly one mile through downtown St. Louis from Washington Avenue to Chouteau Avenue. More than just a bikeway, the redesign organizes the corridor to be safer and more comfortable for people walking, biking, taking transit, and driving.

Projects like Tucker Boulevard play an important role in expanding and connecting St. Louis’s low-stress bike network. Progress in St. Louis and thousands of other communities is tracked through PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), the data tool that powers our City Ratings program and measures how easy it is for people to get where they need to go by bike.

The City of St. Louis is implementing the project using federal Transportation Alternatives Program funding, with design, community engagement, and advocacy support from Trailnet. Once completed in spring 2026, the Tucker corridor will connect seamlessly to the Chestnut Street bike lanes, improvements on Chouteau Avenue, and the emerging Brickline Greenway, which has at least 30 segments in various stages of planning and construction, forming a critical spine of the growing citywide bike network.

“These projects are visible proof that St. Louis is prioritizing people over speed,” said Incandela. “They show residents and visitors that our streets are meant for connection — not chaos.”

MoDOT’s First Protected Bike Lane Expands St. Louis’ Bike Network

The momentum for safer biking extends beyond city streets. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is constructing its first-ever protected bike lane on Chouteau Avenue/Route 100, identified as a high-priority corridor in Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan.

Spanning six miles between Broadway and the city limits, the $7 million project addresses significant safety concerns: more than 1,500 crashes have occurred on this stretch in the past five years. It also connects to other projects like Tucker Boulevard and the Tower Grove Connector — a 1.8-mile protected cycle track that will connect Tower Grove Park with a redevelopment project that is turning underutilized land into a 200-acre innovation district.

The redesign includes narrower driving lanes to reduce speeding, upgraded pedestrian crossings, new medians, and protected bike lanes separated from traffic by curbs and parking.

Building Community, Confidence, and Connection

Community response has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents shared that safe, protected routes are what they’ve been waiting for— a reason to choose biking for everyday trips. Local businesses, engaged throughout the planning process, see calmer, people-friendly streets as good for local businesses and neighborhoods.

“We’ve heard from residents that the lack of safe bike infrastructure has been the biggest barrier to biking downtown,” said Incandela. “These projects are a game-changer. They create real, comfortable choices for getting around.”

Importantly, the growing network is connecting communities harmed or divided by past roadway decisions. Combined with neighborhood-scale efforts like Louisiana Calm Street, Safe Routes to School programs, and the 20th Street Project Connect, these projects are expanding access to opportunity for all across the city.

“Students, downtown workers, and families will now have safer ways to get to school, to work, to transit, or simply to enjoy the city together,” said Incandela. “This is about joy and freedom as much as infrastructure.”

As construction continues, Trailnet is partnering with city agencies to support maintenance efforts like “Archie,” the city’s new bike-lane cleaning vehicle dedicated to keeping protected lanes safe and usable year-round, and public engagement campaigns to help community members learn how the growing network benefits everyone, including drivers.

“We’re building not just infrastructure, but a multimodal culture,” Incandela emphasized. “We’re working toward a St. Louis where choosing to walk, ride, or roll feels normal, intuitive, and joyful.”

What began as a grassroots campaign with early support from PeopleForBikes is now shaping the future of transportation in St. Louis — influencing city departments, state agencies, funding priorities, and long-term planning to ensure that St. Louis is a city where people can move safely and confidently, no matter how they travel.

Want to learn about similar projects near you? Check out PeopleForBikes’ Bike Project Tracker to explore bike lane and trail projects making biking safer and more connected in communities nationwide.

A $10,000 Investment is Transforming the Way St. Louis Moves

A new report from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) — Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2024 Preliminary Data — shows that pedestrian deaths in the U.S. declined for the second straight year, but the findings still deliver a stark reminder: there is still work to be done to make streets safer for everyone in communities nationwide.

Drivers struck and killed 7,148 people in the United States last year, enough to fill 31 Boeing 737s. While fatalities were down 4.3% compared to 2023, they were up 19.2% over 2016 and reached a 40-year high in 2022.

Pedestrian deaths are increasing at a rate far faster than overall traffic fatalities. Between 2009 and 2023, pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 80%, while all other traffic fatalities increased 13%.

More than three-quarters of pedestrian fatalities occur after dark. The share of nighttime deaths has skyrocketed recently. Fatal pedestrian crashes at night rose 84% between 2010 and 2023, compared to a 28% increase in daytime fatalities.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of pedestrian deaths occurred in locations without a sidewalk in 2023. Sidewalks (and other infrastructure like multi-use paths and protected bike lanes) can help protect people walking and biking by providing a physical separation between them and motor vehicle traffic, but they are missing or in poor condition in many parts of the country.

While this recent modest decline in pedestrian fatalities is positive news, deaths are still up nearly 20% over 2016 and urgent action is needed to keep all people safe — no matter how they choose to travel. In order to make our vision for zero pedestrian fatalities a reality, the GHSA suggests doubling down on proven practices: Improved education efforts, effective law enforcement practices, and expanded infrastructure improvements.

PeopleForBikes is working to give everyone safe, fun, and connected places to ride a bike, and improved road safety for people walking and biking goes hand in hand:

Streets with protected bike lanes experience up to 90% fewer injuries per mile compared to those without bike infrastructure

Cities with protected bike lanes see 44% fewer fatalities for all road users and 50% fewer serious injuries

Adding bike lanes to streets can reduce crashes by as much as 49%.

Our annual City Ratings program ranks cities on the safety and connectivity of their bike networks and gives local leaders and advocates the tools and resources to identify areas for improvement and make dedicated investments in safer places to ride. New this year, City Ratings also features an interactive map and database of thousands of planned and proposed bike projects across the U.S., growing support for infrastructure projects that will make a big difference in improving safety for all road users, not just people riding bikes. 

PeopleForBikes also works at all levels of government advocating for policies and legislation that increase funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, create laws that make biking safer, and allow more people to choose alternative transportation for their daily travel needs.  

Check out your community’s City Ratings score and use our Bicycle Network Analysis map to see where improvements can be made.

Find bike projects to support in your community that will make walking and biking easier and safer.

Sign up for PeopleForBikes’ advocacy alerts to learn how you can take action for safer streets by supporting new funding opportunities, policy changes, and infrastructure investments.

New Study Highlights Recent Decline in Pedestrian Deaths, But More Work to Be Done

In 2025, our City Ratings program ranked nearly 3,000 cities across the U.S. and around the world on how good they are for biking. This year, our U.S. ratings include 185 new small cities, 51 new medium cities, and five new large cities as a result of splitting New York City into its different boroughs. We collected some of the top-performing newcomers to showcase great cities for biking from coast to coast that might fly under the radar.  

While it’s certainly not an undiscovered secret, we still wanted to give a shout out to Brooklyn for snagging the top spot as the #1 large U.S. city for biking in this year’s City Ratings. Boasting an impressive score of 72, Brooklyn is making dedicated investments in safe and connected places to ride. Not too far behind, Brooklyn’s neighboring boroughs Queens and Manhattan also made it on the top 10 large cities list for 2025, with scores of 63 and 51, respectively. Learn more about America's new best large city for biking here. 

Known primarily for its reputation as a world-class ski destination, Big Sky is quickly gaining recognition for its stunning trail networks and commitment to year-round outdoor recreation. For those staying in town, most destinations are easily accessible by bike, making it easy to leave the car behind. On the mountain, Big Sky Resort features more than 40 miles of gravity-fed trails with more beginner-friendly singletrack just a few pedal strokes away from town. 

Located at the northern end of Napa Valley, Calistoga’s relatively compact layout and laid-back atmosphere make it a perfect destination to enjoy on two wheels. Per Eco Counter, Calistoga  sees an average of nearly 10,000 cyclist and pedestrian trips each day, with 5.6 million trips recorded since 2016. A regional highlight is the Napa Valley Vine Trail, a 47-mile protected bike and pedestrian path that will eventually stretch all the way from Calistoga in the north down to Vallejo in the Bay Area.

Reed City is a major crossroads for Michigan’s vast Rails-to-Trails network, located at the intersection of two premier rail-trails: the White Pine Trail, a 92-mile paved trail running from Grand Rapids to Cadillac, and the Pere Marquette State Trail, a 55-mile multi-use trail stretching between Bladwin and Clare.

While many people might not think of Alaska as the first state to look for great biking cities, Wasilla made a big arrival in its first year included in City Ratings with an admirable score of 53. A regional highlight for biking is the Matanuska Greenbelt, a 33-mile trail stretching from Palmer to Wasilla through boreal forest, farmland, and rolling moraines left by glaciers during the last Ice Age.

2025 City Ratings' Top New Cities for Biking

Topics

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2025 City Ratings' Top New Cities for Biking