Bike-Friendly Rankings of States
How bike-friendly is your state?
According to The League of American Bicyclists, here is their first of many annual rankings:
2008 State Rankings
1 Washington
2 Wisconsin
3 Arizona
4 Oregon
5 Minnesota
6 Maine
7 California
8 Illinois
9 New Jersey
10 New Hampshire
11 Utah
12 Michigan
13 North Carolina
14 Hawaii
15 South Carolina
16 Massachusetts
17 Vermont
18 Wyoming
19 Nevada
20 Florida
21 Iowa
22 Colorado
23 Virginia
24 Indiana
25 Kansas
26 Louisiana
27 Rhode Island
28 Missouri
29 Kentucky
30 Texas
31 Delaware
32 Ohio
33 Nebraska
34 New York
35 Maryland
36 Tennessee
37 Idaho
38 Pennsylvania
39 Arkansas
40 Alaska
41 South Dakota
42 Connecticut
43 Oklahoma
44 Montana
45 New Mexico
46 North Dakota
47 Mississippi
48 Alabama
49 Georgia
50 West Virginia
Whaaa?!! Wyoming is ranked #18 while Colorado is #22? Something is truly screwed up with the scoring criteria! The Wyoming road shoulders are typically abominations, the redneck factor is intolerable, and the number of cyclists in Wyoming is practically nil compared to Colorado.
The ranking criteria?
"The states were scored on responses to a questionnaire evaluating their commitment to bicycling and covering 6 key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement."
Does this mean they left it up to LAB members or state bicycle advocates to score their own states? Wow. Talk about a massive screw up that Wyoming ranks anywhere CLOSE to Colorado, let alone above it!
And Nevada is #19? OMG!
posted by Howard at 10:01 PM
7 Comments:
Washington #1? Really? That surprises the hell out of me, as I live in Washington. I would have put Oregon way ahead of Washington.
t.
I've not ridden in Washington yet, but I will agree that Oregon is a pretty sweet state to bike in.
I wonder if all the evaluations were done in the metro areas of the states.
I know Boston is horrendous riding, but the rest of the state is very bike friendly.
I also have to say that RI is given much too much credit, and West Virginia is where it belongs.
There are people who maintain that these criteria, as well as the assorted rare-metal "awards," are fundamentally flawed in that they are based on stuff on paper and money spent... without real examination of whether said monies were spent in a way really beneficial to cyclists. A questionnaire doesn't really say *squat* about what it's like to ride a bike in a state.
Some day when you're stuck inside but still have powerchek out http://www.labreform.org/ for some fascinating history-of-politics-and-personalities.
43rd? That is totally wrong. Someone must have been bribed to push OK up that high on the list!
I can't believe CO was rated so highly. Just a few months back I saw one of your semi-biker friendly cops issue a citation to a cyclist! That NEVER happens to me.
Hahahahahaha!
Just an anecdote. Not admissable in a big, important national study, I'm sure.
Oh yeah, and in case I never mentioned it on my blog, I am the one who got a speeding citation while on my bike. I was going 51 mph, but the sheriff's deputy only caught me going 43. $156 but no points.
Maybe that's what the study meant by "enforcement"?
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