[pdxtex]

What would you guys say are the bike friendliest cities worldwide? Just wondering.

[BTinSF]

I'm going to limit my remarks to what I know: Both the cities where I live part of the year (San Francisco and Tucson) try very hard to be bike-friendly and you see lots of bicyclists in both. Both have lots of young people of prime cycling age (in both cases, probably it has to do with the presence of colleges and their students like U. of Arizona in Tucson). San Francisco's density of people, cars and everything else does cause conflicts, but lots of streets have bike lanes and the number is actually growing (to the serious detriment of traffic flow in some cases IMHO--I'm thinking of Valencia--but that just proves how hard they try). Tucson prides itself as a place where lots of serious cyclists train in winter--you see them everywhere--and it holds an major annual "tour" race. Again, though, in fairness I have to say that the downtown traffic would be pretty intimidating to me were I on a bike.

[Teshadoh]

Colorado cities are typically very bike friendly - Colorado Springs, Denver & Boulder.

[Crawford]

Nothing in America or anywhere else comes close to Northern Europe. Copenhagen is the most bike-friendly city I've seen, but Amsterdam and Hamburg come close.

France and Southern Europe aren't particularly bike-friendly. In fairness, it would be impossible to make Paris bike-friendly. The UK is probably a little better than France and Southern Europe, but nothing like Holland, Denmark and Northern Germany. It helps that these areas are flat, have moderate year-round climates and their cities have (for European standards) wide streets and space between buildings.

[trvlr70]

Don't forget about Switzerland. At every post office in the country, you can rent bikes. It is pretty good system.

Domestically, Chicago is a great bike town. Drivers, in general, are respectful to bikers. The flat terrain is also an asset to bike riding. The current administration is also committed to increasing bike ridership and have done things, such as building a bike storage center at Millenium Park, to assist.

[dimondpark]

I have to agree with Copenhagen.

[AZheat]

It's amazing how many bike trails there are in the Denver area and there're not just the kind that they squeeze in on the far right size of a road. They're actual paved walking or biking trails that go all over town. If I recall correctly I think it's about 300 miles worth. That's pretty impressive.

[MolsonExport]

Bicycle facilities: Montreal was rated the number one cycling city in North America for 1999 by Bicycling magazine. Over 300 km of bike routes and paths are located on the island and more than double that in the surrounding region.
http://www.caroulemontreal.com/images/pistes.jpg

More recently: "Montreal also has 466 miles (750 km) of bicycle paths, and was rated the best cycling city in North America by Bicycle magazine."

http://www3.ietf.org/meetings/happening.html

[pj3000]

As for urban biking, the best in my experience is New York. It's just so common; there's people on bikes everywhere. Riding on the Manhattan streets amidst all the activity is an experience like no other, but you gotta be very aware at all times. A bike trail encircles the island and provides a great, easy means of commuting.

http://www.pedalpushersonline.com/images/quicksilver.jpg

[BnaBreaker]

Xi'an is pretty bike friendly. :tup:

[Sawtooth]

Boise is a great city for biking. Many streets have bike lanes and then there is the Boise River Greenbelt which is currently(it is usually expanding as right of way is secured) a 30 mile paved path that runs on both sides of the river and is popular for biking, jogging, etc, there are acres and acres of parks, and there is nearly 100 miles of trails within easy biking distance of downtown. There are bikes everywhere here and you always have to be on the lookout for a biker if you are driving a car. Not that rankings matter all of the time, but Boise has been chosen as the best city for mountain biking several times.
The IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) has ranked the state of Idaho as the best for biking and variety of trails and several Idaho cities are very bike friendly. There are several old rail lines around the state that have been converted into bike paths.

[brian_b]

Copenhagen tops my list, but I found it somewhat difficult to rent a bike there. They have a bunch of free bikes for people to use, but they are hoarded by locals who keep them away from the racks and visitors have virtually no chance at using one. The bike rental places I found usually required a reservation in advance.

I thought that the larger cities in Germany had an awesome system. They have these bright red goofy looking bikes with a phone number on them. If you happen upon a bike and want to use it, you use your cell phone, call the number, and enter the "serial number" of the bike. It unlocks and you can ride away. When you don't want the bike anymore you just park it where you are and call the number again. It bills it to your credit card, but I think the locals have more payment options.

Vienna also had a good system, using kiosks to handle renting the city-owned bikes. In both Germany and Vienna, it was always easy to find a bike to rent, and it was easy and safe to get anywhere you wanted via bike.

[SHiRO]

Amsterdam and other Dutch cities and Copenhagen, no contest.

[BTinSF]

^^^Right--there is "no contest". This is not a "my city is more bike friendly than your city" thread. Amsterdam and Copenhagen are bike friendly. So are other places with greater obstacles (such as hills) to overcome.

[Gava]

There is a City in Holland that is planned for bikes, I don't remember its name but it's surely the bike capital of the world. Everything is done so that the citizen will chose their bikes instead of their cars. There are dedicated Bike roads and car roads are laid out so that the bike will always be the fastest option when going from home to work. They have a ridiculous amount of bikers in that city, something like 80% of all commuters.

[MayorOfChicago]

Amsterdam is definitely in the royal family of biking cities.

The city has around 700,000 bikes - and not that many more people.

There are bike lanes everywhere, bike racks everywhere, bikes chained to everything possible. They even have a parking garage just built for bikes.

[AZheat]

I was in China twenty years ago before everybody started buying cars. Now that country had some bicycles. I remember in Beijing seeing thousands of them going down the streets. I've never seen anything like it. I always wondered how in the world they would even find their bike again when they parked it someplace because there were just so many.

[Shawn]

http://photos.imageevent.com/shnins/aikkasviews/SouthBikes.jpg

I took this pic from my friend's 14th floor balcony; her apartment is in Higashi Kurume, a Tokyo suburb about 30 miles northeast of central Tokyo. This "bike lot" is next to the neighborhood's main train station; there is no parking for cars, only bikes. This is a Saturday afternoon pic, by the way.

However, Tokyo is generally not bike-friendly: the sidewalks are too narrow, the roads are too narrow, and there are very few dedicated bike lanes. That being said, none of these facts stop the literally millions of bike users from weaving through sidewalk pedestrian traffic or roadway traffic. I hate bike riders here.

[Omaharocks]

In my experience: Internationally - Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Munich

In the places I've lived or experienced in the U.S. - Madison is the best biking city. I'm a pretty avid biker, and the trails, mostly flat terrain, bike lanes, and overall attitudes towards cyclists was the best. Portland touts itself as very bike friendly - and it is, with a growing number of cyclists - but the terrain (often hilly), and number of busy roads makes for a more difficult ride outside the downtown area. There aren't any cities in the south or northeast that make my list, mostly for either attitudes toward cyclists or aggressive drivers combined with congested roads.

[Nouvellecosse]

http://photos.imageevent.com/shnins/aikkasviews/SouthBikes.jpg
Omg that's such a beautiful sight - an entire parking lot, for bikes! :worship:

[niwell]

Ottawa is pretty good in Canada. IIRC the city has the largest actual bike path length, after Calgary, which is definetly helpful. But on top of this, Ottawa has many bike lanes, and few major roads that are unfriendly to bikers. Indeed, many 'major' roads are still 2 lane, with a big shoulder. The few totally unsuitable for biking on-street (such as Carling Ave) have pretty big sidewalks, even though you aren't supposed to bike on them. This helps while biking even more than bike paths for commuting. My commute to school by bike utilizes a number of shoulders, bike paths and residential streets.

[staff]

Ke Ben Ha Gen.

Also Amsterdam, Malmö etc.

[raggedy13]

Vancouver can't compare to a lot of those European cities but it's always improving and expanding it's bike lane/path network. At the moment it has a decent sized network and a respectful number of people that use it for both commuting and recreational purposes, at least by NA standards. The Seawall that stretches along the Vancouver waterfront is always heavily used for recreation, especially in the summer months, by locals and tourists alike.

Also Vancouver takes part in the "Critical Mass" phenomenon that occurs in a number of cities around NA. Here is a description of it from http://www.youneverbikealone.com/about

The cycling phenomenon known as Critical Mass is a reclamation of public space that started in San Francisco in the early 1990s and spread by the internet throughout the world. On a set day, at the end of every month, cyclists and other self-propelled people ride en masse through city streets.

I've never done it myself but am very interested in trying it this year.

Some of my photos of bike lanes/paths around downtown...
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/vanthread/100_5635.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Downtown%20Summer%20Beaches/100_6161.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Downtown%20Summer%20Beaches/100_6239.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Downtown%20Summer%20Beaches/100_6446.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g296/raggedy13/Downtown%20Summer%20Beaches/100_6476.jpg

Photos of Critical Mass from http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/index.html

http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/MD-2006-08-25-009.jpg

http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/MD-2006-08-25-016.jpg

http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/MD-2006-08-25-024.jpg

http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/MD-2006-08-25-046.jpg

http://vic.gedris.org/pics/2006-08-25-CriticalMass/MD-2006-08-25-068.jpg

The City's biking network...

http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/transport/cycling/images/bikmap.gif

I believe this map is either outdated or incomplete as it doesn't show some of the bike lanes which I know are downtown (i.e. both the lanes I have pictures of above).

[Master Plan Dan]

I take Ontario to work and back everyday... I live in North Van. Ontario is a bike street where there are more bikes on there when I am riding then there are cars.

It is the coolest feeling to be passing numerous bikes going the other way.

The only hinge is when it rains here... it rains!

They are getting better...

[ChunkyMonkey]

It's not in North America that's for sure. I would say Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

[Chicago103]

Chicago is on its way to becoming one of the best biking cities in America at the very least via Mayor Daley being an avid byciclist himself and pushing alot of pro cyclist initiatives. I have limited experience with other cities outside of Chicago so I cant really comment on what cities are better but Chicago is the most bike friendly place I have lived or visit alot (which isnt saying alot since the only other places I am familiar with biking in are suburban environments). Bike racks are everywhere downtown and decent coverage in many of the neighborhoods, the lakefront trail is like a bike expressway and there are many miles of bike trails and bike lanes all over the heavily used areas of the city. You can bike from Rogers Park to Hegewisch and always be on either a bike trail or bike path and that is saying alot.

[MplsTodd]

Minneapolis has a great system of bike trails and pathways in the city and throughout the metro area. In addition to extensive recreational trails extending around the majority of our city lakes, there are several rail corridors which have been converted into biking/rollar blading and walking trails, extending throughout the metro area.

Bike commuting into the city has become very popular, with several trails extending into downtown along a combination of rail corridors, river parkway, or city streets. Even in winter, there are hard core bikers out in the snow.



http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/GBSTrails24x36.pdf

also check out:

www.midtowngreenway.org

[mttop]

Boise is a great city for biking. Many streets have bike lanes and then there is the Boise River Greenbelt which is currently(it is usually expanding as right of way is secured) a 30 mile paved path that runs on both sides of the river and is popular for biking, jogging, etc, there are acres and acres of parks, and there is nearly 100 miles of trails within easy biking distance of downtown. There are bikes everywhere here and you always have to be on the lookout for a biker if you are driving a car. Not that rankings matter all of the time, but Boise has been chosen as the best city for mountain biking several times.
The IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) has ranked the state of Idaho as the best for biking and variety of trails and several Idaho cities are very bike friendly. There are several old rail lines around the state that have been converted into bike paths.


I agree that Boise is an excellent example of a biking city. I am there on business from Seattle at least every 3 months and notice bikes all over the city. There are several parents who haul their toddlers around in the little trailers behind the bikes and that always puts a smile on my face.
I even hailed a bike taxi once!

[FREKI]

Danish bike lane - such lanes are present at all roads and large streets...

http://i17.tinypic.com/2yxjdjk.jpg

If you look at Copenhagen in Google earth you will see blue lines in the intersections - those are the bikes lanes when not protected by curbes...

As seen here:
http://i16.tinypic.com/2ilzl1k.jpg

[Avian001]

Minneapolis has a great system of bike trails and pathways in the city and throughout the metro area. In addition to extensive recreational trails extending around the majority of our city lakes, there are several rail corridors which have been converted into biking/roller blading and walking trails, extending throughout the metro area.

Bike commuting into the city has become very popular, with several trails extending into downtown along a combination of rail corridors, river parkway, or city streets.



http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/GBSTrails24x36.pdf

also check out:

www.midtowngreenway.org

I agree. Minneapolis is the #1 bike commuting city in America according to the raw percentages of bicycle commuters in various cities as compiled from data taken from the US Census 2000 Supplemental Survey. The official US Census results are:

1 Minneapolis, MN 2.63%
2 Sacramento, CA 2.59%
3 Portland, OR 2.55%
4 Tucson, AZ 2.22%
5 Fresno, CA 1.96%
6 Tampa, FL 1.93%
7 San Francisco, CA 1.80%
8 Oakland, CA 1.77%
9 Mesa, AZ 1.64%
10 Anaheim, CA 1.59%

Even in winter, there are hard core bikers out in the snow. The results are actually quite striking given that Minneapolis experiences some extreme weather from January-May, though it is relatively benign from June-October.

Minneapolis is the only midwestern city to make the top-10 list.

[mSeattle]

It's a shame that cities in flatter areas don't have higher bike ridership. A minimum for cities should be more bike racks on the streets. That parking lot for bikes is sweet! Who will build multi-level open-air bike garages?

[SHiRO]

It's a shame that cities in flatter areas don't have higher bike ridership. A minimum for cities should be more bike racks on the streets. That parking lot for bikes is sweet! Who will build multi-level open-air bike garages?
Amsterdam!

http://www.millermicro.com/AmsterdamBikeParking1.jpg

http://www.bencarpenter.co.uk/amsterdam/MultiStoreyBikePark.jpg





Or how about several (free) underground bike parks right under the city center (escalators and all) like in my city?

:notacrook:

[ltsmotorsport]

People may not think it, but fflint will defend me on this; Sacramento, especially midtown.

[Connect]

I think that in general.... wherever bikers are found in mass (as in some Asian cities) biking will be easier. I say this just because of the "street respect" that bikers command in these cities. In places where bikers are rare, they don't get the same kind of respect from motorists, pedestrians and policy makers.

This line of thought ignores the physical circumstances of the city. Why? The mindset of the people overrides the physical reality. Take this for example: A pedestrian in a poorly designed pedestrian area of Boston does better than a pedestrian in a well designed pedestrian area of Atlanta.

(edit: I think Madison, Wisconsin is a good biking city.)

[DruidCity]

In the places I've lived or experienced in the U.S. - Madison is the best biking city.

I'll ditto that. I walk rather than bike, but I was really impressed with the pedestrian + bike access there when I visited Wisconsin a couple years ago.

[Northernlad]

Boise is a great city for biking. Many streets have bike lanes and then there is the Boise River Greenbelt which is currently(it is usually expanding as right of way is secured) a 30 mile paved path that runs on both sides of the river and is popular for biking, jogging, etc, there are acres and acres of parks, and there is nearly 100 miles of trails within easy biking distance of downtown. There are bikes everywhere here and you always have to be on the lookout for a biker if you are driving a car. Not that rankings matter all of the time, but Boise has been chosen as the best city for mountain biking several times.
The IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) has ranked the state of Idaho as the best for biking and variety of trails and several Idaho cities are very bike friendly. There are several old rail lines around the state that have been converted into bike paths.

I agree that Boise is an excellent example of a biking city. I am there on business from Seattle at least every 3 months and notice bikes all over the city. There are several parents who haul their toddlers around in the little trailers behind the bikes and that always puts a smile on my face.
I even hailed a bike taxi once!


I visit Boise from Salt Lake on business and Boise never ceases to amaze me with the amount of people on bikes. Bike shops are everywhere too.

[Nouvellecosse]

Amsterdam!

Or how about several (free) underground bike parks right under the city center (escalators and all) like in my city?

:notacrook:That truly is a thing of beauty, especially when one considers how much money many cities and businesses spend on parking for cars, yet in many of these places, they think they're doing a huge thing by putting a single small bike rack somewhere on the property. :koko:

[ginsan2]

Chicago is on its way to becoming one of the best biking cities in America at the very least via Mayor Daley being an avid byciclist himself and pushing alot of pro cyclist initiatives. I have limited experience with other cities outside of Chicago so I cant really comment on what cities are better but Chicago is the most bike friendly place I have lived or visit alot (which isnt saying alot since the only other places I am familiar with biking in are suburban environments). Bike racks are everywhere downtown and decent coverage in many of the neighborhoods, the lakefront trail is like a bike expressway and there are many miles of bike trails and bike lanes all over the heavily used areas of the city. You can bike from Rogers Park to Hegewisch and always be on either a bike trail or bike path and that is saying alot.

The problem with biking here in the midwest are the extreme temperatures-- 10 months of the year it's below 0F, and 2 months it's above 100F :hell: Especially those cities very close to the Great Lakes (Detroit, Chicago, etc) experience horrific humidity that makes it so hard to breath during the summer month(s). I wouldn't want to try to deal with that on a bike.

[FREKI]

I Minneapolis is the #1 bike commuting city in America

1 Minneapolis, MN 2.63%
2 Sacramento, CA 2.59%
3 Portland, OR 2.55%
4 Tucson, AZ 2.22%
5 Fresno, CA 1.96%
6 Tampa, FL 1.93%
7 San Francisco, CA 1.80%
8 Oakland, CA 1.77%
9 Mesa, AZ 1.64%
10 Anaheim, CA 1.59%


:haha:

Denmark 26,5% ( 17% male, 36% female)

Can't find a number for Copenhagen alone - but it's has to be a lot higher than the national number.. ( good luck finding a car-parking lot in the day time lol )


Transportation in Denmark

Kilometers travelled by:

Cars: 59.884.000.000 km
Regional Trains: 4.622.000.000 km
Bike: 2.344.000.000 km
S-Train/Metro: 1.132.000.000 km
Plane: 304.000.000 km


Procentage male/female - way of commuting to work:

Car: (62% / 46%)
Bike: (17% / 36%)
Public transportation: (9% / 12%)
By foot: (7% / 5%)

:)

Link ( Danish Wiki ): http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cykel

[SHiRO]

There are more bikes in the Netherlands than people (18 million vs 16 million).

[SHiRO]

A video about bikes in Amsterdam...

qk6YxhKH590

It's not true that you need a license to ride a bike though.



2 bonus video's about Amsterdam WATCH THEM!!!:D

GNhLP6Glt7A
Don't know what that last part has to do with Amsterdam though.

BWoMxTVJY6E

[Jeeper]

Albuquerque, New Mexico is a great bike city. In the Northeast Heights, near the mountains, there are bike trails everywhere, including a extremely long trail that runs along Tramway Blvd for the entire length of the mountain base. Throughout the city there are many bike trails and paths, and on nice weather days, you'd be surprised how many people use them.

[1ajs]

winnipeg has hard core bike riders!!! :D

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9283/bike2bf.jpg

[Teshadoh]

^ Where are the bike chains? I rode though much of the snow in Boulder over the winter - the cold weather wasn't too bad to ride in. I do want to get bike chains though, riding through powdery snow is fun, but when it freezes up it is impossible to keep the bike straight.

[BG918]

Any college town across the U.S. usually is pretty bike-friendly around the campus and adjacent downtown and/or neighborhoods. While most of Oklahoma is very anti-bike you'll find lots of cyclists in Norman going to and from the university. I would imagine most college towns have a similar attitude.

[Drewcifer]

The problem with biking here in the midwest are the extreme temperatures-- 10 months of the year it's below 0F, and 2 months it's above 100F :hell: Especially those cities very close to the Great Lakes (Detroit, Chicago, etc) experience horrific humidity that makes it so hard to breath during the summer month(s). I wouldn't want to try to deal with that on a bike.If that is the case then why is Minneapolis/St Paul first in the country - it has the most extreme continental climate of any major metro in the US. The rest of you are just weak.:D

I walk to work.

[pronkjewail]

The bike city of the world is Groningen in the Netherlands with 200000 bikes on a population of 180000. With an average of 1400 km cycling per person per year this city can claim the title of bicycle capital of the world for sure.

[Eventually...Chicago]

I haven't biked in enough cities to be able to add much but i would encourage anyone in the greater chicago-midwest are to look into doing Bike the Drive. I don't know if there is a better way to see chicago than biking down lake shore drive.

http://www.bikethedrive.org/

[R@ptor]

Any larger university city in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark although Belgian, Swiss and Austrian cities slowly catch up. Some French cities have also made huge improvements in recent years. I live just 35 miles away from the French border and cycle pretty often through the Alsace in the summer months. The amount of bicycle lanes created there in recent years is amazing.

Xi'an is pretty bike friendly. :tup:

Xi'an????? When I visited it last August I found it almost suicidal to be a pedestrian in that city and I certainly wouldn't recommend driving a bicycle in that traffic. Great city though.

[shovel_ready]

The problem with biking here in the midwest are the extreme temperatures-- 10 months of the year it's below 0F, and 2 months it's above 100F

WTF?? Try again..

[Jeeper]

The problem with biking here in the midwest are the extreme temperatures-- 10 months of the year it's below 0F, and 2 months it's above 100F :hell: Especially those cities very close to the Great Lakes (Detroit, Chicago, etc) experience horrific humidity that makes it so hard to breath during the summer month(s). I wouldn't want to try to deal with that on a bike.

Wait. What?

[shappy]

bicycles are ubiquitous in Toronto.

[jeremy_haak]

Apparently Victoria is the most bike friendly in Canada since they have the highest number of bicycle commuters (5%). I always thought Ottawa was quite bike friendly when I lived there, but perhaps more in a recreational sense.

[staff]

Any larger university city in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark although Belgian, Swiss and Austrian cities slowly catch up. Some French cities have also made huge improvements in recent years. I live just 35 miles away from the French border and cycle pretty often through the Alsace in the summer months. The amount of bicycle lanes created there in recent years is amazing.
Don't forget Scania/Skåne in Sweden. It wouldn't surprise me if Malmö has more bicycle commuters (per capita) than Copenhagen or Amsterdam.

[alleystreetindustry]

for america..portland oregon. i have to say though. i see my fair share of bicyles in atlanta. we're getting there.

[Fiorenza]

Atlanta is certainly becoming more bike-friendly, more trails are under development...but it's still a major dodge when sharing the streets.

[pkp]

I commute to work on on a bike - me and on on bunch of homeless guys.

[Derek]

San Diego is very bike friendly, "Share the Road" signs everywhere and they even have thier own paths along some of the highways.

[boden]

Hamilton, Bermuda comes to mind.

[SLC Tortfeasor]

Freiburg, Germany. This is a small to mid-sized city at the edge of the Black Forest in Southwestern Germany. It's widely recognized as the center of "Green" politics in Germany, and has a large university. Having lived there for several months, I can say it is extremely bike-oriented.

I have a picture somewhere of a bicycle parking garage in Freiburg near the train station. It's this really cool circular building, about 3 stories high, that just stores and rents hundreds if not thousands of bikes.

[alleystreetindustry]

Atlanta is certainly becoming more bike-friendly, more trails are under development...but it's still a major dodge when sharing the streets.

haha. i love the fact that my mom hates atlanta with all her heart. that goes for any city really. she's a rural liberal that is all about that new mexico but is stuck in east suburban atlanta for i haven't gone to college yet. when i do go, she will leave that day to new mexico.

anyways, i see a big difference when i or my friends drive than my mom. my friends and i are laid back, and let the bicyclist do their thing until we have time and room to pass. my mom on the other hand is an inch away from knocking them of their wheels to the curb. she hates traffic and putting a bike on the road makes it worse. she does have respect for the people though, but there just isn't enough room for them on some of those narrow streets in atlanta.

[BTinSF]

From the WSJ:

Building a Better Bike Lane
Bike-friendly cities in Europe are launching a
new attack on car culture. Can the U.S. catch up?
By NANCY KEATES
May 4, 2007; Page W1

COPENHAGEN -- No one wears bike helmets here. They're afraid they'll mess up their hair. "I have a big head and I would look silly," Mayor Klaus Bondam says.

People bike while pregnant, carrying two cups of coffee, smoking, eating bananas. At the airport, there are parking spaces for bikes. In the emergency room at Frederiksberg Hospital on weekends, half the biking accidents are from people riding drunk. Doctors say the drunk riders tend to run into poles.

Flat, compact and temperate, the Netherlands and Denmark have long been havens for bikers. In Amsterdam, 40% of commuters get to work by bike. In Copenhagen, more than a third of workers pedal to their offices. But as concern about global warming intensifies -- the European Union is already under emissions caps and tougher restrictions are expected -- the two cities are leading a fresh assault on car culture. A major thrust is a host of aggressive new measures designed to shift bike commuting into higher gear, including increased prison time for bike thieves and the construction of new parking facilities that can hold up to 10,000 bikes.

The rest of Europe is paying close attention. Officials from London, Munich and Zurich (plus a handful from the U.S.) have visited Amsterdam's transportation department for advice on developing bicycle-friendly infrastructure and policies. Norway aims to raise bicycle traffic to at least 8% of all travel by 2015 -- double its current level -- while Sweden hopes to move from 12% to 16% by 2010. This summer, Paris will put thousands of low-cost rental bikes throughout the city to cut traffic, reduce pollution and improve parking.

The city of Copenhagen plans to double its spending on biking infrastructure over the next three years, and Denmark is about to unveil a plan to increase spending on bike lanes on 2,000 kilometers, or 1,240 miles, of roads. Amsterdam is undertaking an ambitious capital-improvement program that includes building a 10,000-bike parking garage at the main train station -- construction is expected to start by the end of next year. The city is also trying to boost public transportation usage, and plans to soon enforce stricter car-parking fines and increase parking fees to discourage people from driving.

Worried that immigrants might push car use up, both cities have started training programs to teach non-natives how to ride bikes and are stepping up bike training of children in schools. There are bike-only bridges under consideration and efforts to make intersections more rider-friendly by putting in special mirrors.

The policy goal is to have bicycle trips replace many short car trips, which account for 6% of total emissions from cars, according to a document adopted last month by the European Economic and Social Committee, an organization of transportation ministers from EU member countries. Another report published this year by the Dutch Cyclists' Association found that if all trips shorter than 7.5 kilometers in the Netherlands currently made by car were by bicycle, the country would reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions by 2.4 million tons. That's about one-eighth of the amount of emissions it would need to reduce to meet the Kyoto Protocol.

Officials from some American cities have made pilgrimages to Amsterdam. But in the U.S., bike commuters face more challenges, including strong opposition from some small businesses, car owners and parking-garage owners to any proposals to remove parking, shrink driving lanes or reduce speed limits. Some argue that limiting car usage would hurt business. "We haven't made the tough decisions yet," says Sam Adams, city commissioner of Portland, Ore., who visited Amsterdam in 2005. There has been some movement. Last month, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a proposal to add a congestion charge on cars and increase the number of bicycle paths in the city. It would also require commercial buildings to have indoor parking facilities for bikes.

Even in Amsterdam, not everyone is pro-biking. Higher-end shops have already moved out of the city center because of measures to decrease car traffic, says Geert-Pieter Wagenmakers, an adviser to Amsterdam's Chamber of Commerce, and now shops in the outer ring of the city are vulnerable. Bikes parked all over the sidewalk are bad for business, he adds.

Still, the new measures in Amsterdam and Copenhagen add to an infrastructure that has already made biking an integral part of life. People haul groceries in saddle bags or on handlebars and tote their children in multiple bike seats. Companies have indoor bike parking, changing rooms and on-site bikes for employees to take to meetings. Subways have bike cars and ramps next to the stairs.

Riding a bike for some has more cachet than driving a Porsche. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende sometimes rides to work, as do lawyers, CEOs (Lars Rebien Sorensen, chief executive of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, is famous for his on-bike persona) and members of parliament, often with empty children's seats in back. Dutch Prince Maurits van Oranje is often seen riding around town. "It's a good way to keep in touch with people on the streets," says Tjeerd Herrema, deputy mayor of Amsterdam. Mr. Herrema's car and driver still make the trip sometimes -- to chauffeur his bag when he has too much work to carry.

Jolanda Engelhamp let her husband keep her car when they split up a few years ago because it was becoming too expensive to park. Now the 47-year-old takes her second-grade son to school on the back of her bike. (It's a half-hour ride from home.) Outside the school in Amsterdam, harried moms drop off children, checking backpacks and coats; men in suits pull up, with children's seats in back, steering while talking on their cellphones. It's a typical drop-off scene, only without cars.

For Khilma van der Klugt, a 38-year-old bookkeeper, biking is more about health and convenience than concern for the environment. Her two older children ride their own bikes on the 25-minute commute to school while she ferries the four-year-old twins in a big box attached to the front of her bike. Biking gives her children exercise and fresh air in the morning, which helps them concentrate, she says. "It gets all their energy out." She owns a car, but she only uses it when the weather is really bad or she's feeling especially lazy.

Caroline Vonk, a 38-year-old government official, leaves home by bike at 8 a.m. and drops off her two children at a day-care center. By 8:15, she's on her way to work, stopping to drop clothes at the dry cleaner or to buy some rolls for lunch. On the way home, she makes a quick stop at a shop, picks up the children and is home by 5:55. "It is a pleasant way to clear my head," she says.

The programs for non-natives target those who view biking as a lower form of transportation than cars. "If they don't start cycling it will hurt," says Marjolein de Lange, who heads Amsterdam's pro-bicycle union Fietsersbond and has worked with local councils to set up classes for immigrant women.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, 23 women -- many in head-scarves -- gathered at a recreational center north of Amsterdam to follow seven Fietsersbond volunteers to learn to navigate through traffic. The three-hour event cost €3 (about $4) and included practice weaving in and out of orange cones and over blocks of wood. It ended with all of the women gathering in a park for cake and lemonade.

Though she faltered at times, Rosie Soemer, a 36-year-old mother of two who came to the Netherlands from Suriname, was sold. "It is so much easier to go everywhere by bike," she says. Learning to ride was her husband's idea: He bought her a bicycle for her birthday a few months earlier and has been spending his lunch hour teaching her in a park. "It helps me if she can get around better," says her husband, Sam Soemer. "And it's safer than a car."

Amsterdam and Copenhagen are generally safer for bikers than the U.S. because high car taxes and gasoline prices tend to keep sport-utility vehicles off the road. In Denmark, the tax for buying a new car is as high as 180%. Drivers must be over 18 to get a license, and the tests are so hard that most people fail the first few times. Both cities have worked to train truck drivers to look out for bikers when they turn right at intersections, and changed mirrors on vehicles and at traffic corners so they're positioned for viewing cyclists.

As bike lanes become more crowded, new measures have been added to address bike safety. A recent survey found that people in Denmark felt less safe biking, though the risk of getting killed in a bike accident there has fallen by almost half. (The number of bicyclists killed fell to 31 in 2006 from 53 in 2004, and the number seriously injured dropped to 567 from 726 in that period.) According to one emergency room's statistics, the primary reason for accidents is people being hit by car doors opening; second is cars making right-hand turns and hitting bikers at intersections; third is bike-on-bike crashes. Bike-riding police officers now routinely fine cyclists in Amsterdam who don't have lights at night.

Amsterdam is also working to improve the lack of parking. The city built five bike-parking garages over the past five years and plans a new one every year, including one with 10,000 spaces at the central railroad station. (While there's room for 2,000 bikes now, there are often close to 4,000 bikes there.) But even garages aren't enough. Bikers usually want to park right outside wherever they're going -- they don't like parking and walking.

Combating theft is an important plank in developing a bike-friendly culture. In 2003, the city created the Amsterdam Bicycle Recovery Center, a large warehouse where illegally parked bikes are taken. (Its acronym in Dutch is AFAC.) Every bike that goes through AFAC is first checked against a list of stolen bikes. After three months, unclaimed models are registered, engraved with a serial number and sold to a second-hand shop. At any one time, the center has about 6,000 bikes neatly arranged by day of confiscation, out of an estimated total of 600,000 bikes in the city.

How AFAC will encourage bike riding in Amsterdam is a somewhat perverse logic, because it means some 200 bikes are confiscated by city officials a day compared to a handful before it existed. The thinking is that the more bikes that are confiscated, the more bikes can be registered and the better the government can trace stolen bikes. The less nervous people are that their bikes will be stolen, the more likely they are to ride. "Is your bike gone? Check AFAC first," is the center's slogan.

Remco Keyzer did just that on a recent Monday morning. The music teacher had parked his bike outside the central station before heading to a class and returned to find it gone. "I can be mad, but that really wouldn't help me," he says. Sometimes people ride away without paying the required fee. Bruno Brand, who helps people find their bikes at AFAC, says people get mad, but he explains it is the local police, not him, who confiscated the bike.

Within the past four years, the city increased the fine for buying or selling a bike in the street. Punishment for stealing a bike is now up to three months in jail.

Danish and Dutch officials say their countries might have been more congested if protests in the 1970s and 1980s had not sparked the impetus for building bicycle-lane networks. The arguments for more biking were mostly about health and congestion -- only in the past year has the environment started to be a factor. Proponents of better infrastructure point to China as an example: In Beijing, where the economy has boomed, 30.3% of people commuted to work on bikes in 2005, down 8.2% from 2000, according to a survey by the Beijing Transportation Development Research Center and Beijing Municipal Committee of Communication.

Now, the Dansk Cyklist Forbund, the Danish Cyclist's Federation, says that to make progress it can't be too confrontational and must recognize that many bikers also have cars. "Our goal is the right means of transportation for the right trips," says director Jens Loft Rasmussen.

In comparison, the rules of the American road can take some adjustment, as Cheryl AndristPlourde has found when she visits her parents in Columbus, Ohio. Last summer, the Amsterdam resident enrolled her 8-year-old daughter in a camp close to her parents' house. The plan was for her daughter, who biked to school every day back home, to walk to camp. But her daughter whined about the 10-minute walk -- all the other kids drove, she said -- and the streets were too busy for her to bike. By the third day, Ms. AndristPlourde was driving her daughter to the camp.

Bike-Friendly Cities in the U.S.

A number of towns have recently focused on making roads more accessible to bicycles. Here are some of the top spots chosen by the Bicycle Friendly Community Campaign from the League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

CITY/% OF ARTERIAL ROADS WITH BIKE LANES/% OF COMMUTERS WHO BIKE/COMMENTS

Boulder, Colo./97%/21%/Boulder has spent an average 15% of its transportation budget on building and maintaining bicycle traffic over the past five years. The goal is to create a system that's "equitable for all users," with no hierarchy among pedestrians, cars and bikes, says Marni Ratzel, who runs the city's program.

Chicago/11%/1-2%/Mayor Richard Michael Daley bikes to work, setting the example for this city, which released an ambitious new bike plan last year. The goal: making all of Chicago's streets safe and convenient for cycling.

Davis, Calif./95%/17%/Mostly flat and temperate, this town's logo is a bicycle; it has more bikes than cars and is the only place to earn platinum status on Bicycle Friendly Community's list of top cities. The city is about to build a $1.7 million bike-only tunnel under a major road.

Madison, Wisc./About 37%/3.2%/There are 32 miles of bike lanes, 35 miles of bike paths and more than 100 miles of signed bike routes. On University Avenue, the major street in the downtown and University of Wisconsin campus area, there can be over 10,000 bicyclists a day -- plus 30,000 cars.

Palo Alto, Calif./13%/5.7%/Along with the bike lanes on roads, the city also has nine miles of bike paths. In 2004 it spent about $5 million on a rail line under-crossing and $1.5 million on a 0.8-mile bike path.
Portland, Ore. 28% 5.4% Though there are lots of hills and rain, this city has 163 miles of bike lanes. All but two bridges accommodate bicyclists. There's still a long way to go: The city still has 38 miles of bike lanes left in order to achieve its master plan. But in some neighborhoods bike commuters are as high as 9%.

San Francisco/About 4%/2.1%/In November 2003, San Francisco voters approved a half-cent sales tax measure, estimated to total $2.6 billion over 30 years. Of that, $56 million (a little more than 2%) will go to bike-related projects.

Dutch football mom
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ199_2_BIKE_20070503192828.jpg

Traffic in Copenhagen
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ220_jp4_BI_20070503195611.jpg

Bike parking at a Dutch train station--a parking structure for 10,000 bikes is being built
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/WK-AJ189_BIKE_j_20070503211828.jpg

Write to Nancy Keates at nancy.keates@wsj.com2

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117823466296891497.html

[SHiRO]

Nice article.

[Jularc]

:cool:

NYC Named 3rd Best Bicycling City in the U.S.


Bicycling Magazine named New York City the 3rd best bicycling city in the United States among cities with a population over 1 million in its March 2006 issue. "Each day, 110,000 cyclists ride in NYC, more than at any time in the last 25 years." The magazine noted that the City has "over the last five years added bike lanes, granted 24-7 bike access on several bridges, increased car-free hours in Central Park and continued a greenway plan that will ultimately circle Manhattan." The magazine's editor writes: "Who would have thought that New York City, where only the strong survive, was a cycling hot spot?"

CNN anchor Miles O'Brien, an active bicyclist, says in the article: "New York has really been a surprise. When we moved here from Atlanta, I thought, 'This is going to be a hard place to ride. I''m really going to have to push," and it's just the opposite. We live right next to the Hudson River Greenway, and my 13-year-old son, Murrough, and I ride that all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan. We recently found a map of all the bike paths in the five boroughs, and we're going to explore them all."


http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bikeped/bikemain.html

[Jularc]

Last summer I bike from my apartment in the Upper West Side all the way to Conney Island. Very long bike trip but I was in little traffic for the most part. Alot of bike lanes. It was so enjoyable. I took the train back up.

[NYaMtl]

Omg that's such a beautiful sight - an entire parking lot, for bikes! :worship:

Imagine how much space this lot would require for the same vehicle per person! (in reference to an early quote with the picture of the lot in Tokyo)

[Chicago103]

Chicago/11%/1-2%/Mayor Richard Michael Daley bikes to work, setting the example for this city, which released an ambitious new bike plan last year. The goal: making all of Chicago's streets safe and convenient for cycling.

I have heard this and know this to be true but I wonder how often he does this. I get the impression in the warmer months most of the time, I heard there is a small security detail of cops on bikes that escorts him. He also rides around the city in a city owned black SUV, but I think thats more for talking him to official events in the far corners of the city and to and from home on days when the weather is less than ideal or the circumstances make it less than convinient.

[Modern Design]

Omg that's such a beautiful sight - an entire parking lot, for bikes! :worship:

beautiful??:koko: A parking lot full of old damm bikes...i don´t see why one would ride a 70´s 80´s bicycle in the year 2007.Welcome to the modern world..sometimes i have the feeling that europeans are obsessed with old stuff.i can understand the beauty of an old building but all these crap ugly looking old bikes...jeezzz :shrug:

[vanman]

:previous: :dunce:

[MayorOfChicago]

The problem with biking here in the midwest are the extreme temperatures-- 10 months of the year it's below 0F, and 2 months it's above 100F :hell: Especially those cities very close to the Great Lakes (Detroit, Chicago, etc) experience horrific humidity that makes it so hard to breath during the summer month(s). I wouldn't want to try to deal with that on a bike.

Haha, I assume this is sarcasm? :shrug:

6 months of the year it's between 64 and 84
4 months of the year it's between 40 and 50
2 months of the year it's between 32 and 37

4.6% of our days are above 90 degrees
4.0% of our days see temps drop below 0 degrees

Average humidity in June/July/August is between 57% and 60%

I think this city is just fine for riding bikes, especially when you consider that the entire city is flat as a pancake.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike1.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike2.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike3.jpg

The purple is dedicated bike lanes, the orange are bike routes with shoulder room. They're planning on expanding these roads with dedicated bike lanes. This is just a random example of my neighborhood. We have around 10% of our department that bikes to work in the summer. (6 out of 60 people, the rest take bus/train/walk)

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike4.gif

The new Bike Station at Millenium park. Commuters can park their bikes here, they have showers, and on hand repair help.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike5.jpg


From the city's website:

Tired of the typical, agonizing commute? DISCOVER ALTERNATIVE ENERGY! Join fellow cyclists, former motorists, local media celebrities and the city of Chicago at the Bike to Work Rally on Friday, June 15 with a NEW expanded time beginning at 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Daley Plaza. At the rally, bikers will receive a FREE continental breakfast and t-shirt while supplies last and will be eligible for great raffle prizes, including bikes, cycling gear, Bally Total Fitness memberships and more. Once again, presenting sponsor Chase, will offer free valet bike parking at Daley Plaza from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Biking in Chicago is easier than ever. The city is building an additional 100 miles of bike lanes, 50 miles of bike paths, and 10,000 bike racks (more than any other city in the United States). Bicycles are permitted on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains and their 2,000 buses are equipped with bike racks through their Bike and Ride program. The City of Chicago continues to lay the groundwork with the Bike 2015 Plan to ensure Chicago's place as the most bicycle-friendly city in the United States.

The city also does "Bike The Drive" each year. Last year around 20,000 people took their bikes up the entire length of Lakeshore Drive, which had been shut down to vehicle traffic.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike6.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike7.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike8.jpg


The city also has Critical Mass, an event held on the last Friday of each month, where thousands of bikers gather in the center of downtown for a bikeride through the city.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/bike9.jpg

[You Need A Thneed]

Pathway map of Calgary's over 600km of Paved Pathway. (http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/BU/engineering_services/emaps/bicycle_pathways_map.pdf)

[HurricaneHugo]

I'm surprised nobody has said Santa Barbara.

When I went to visit, bike lanes were EVERYWHERE.

Then I went to the UCSB Campus, and they were EVERYWHERE as well.

I don't know if there are any bike lanes at my school (UCSD).

[pronkjewail]

In Groningen there is about 370 kilometer cycle path (other roads and streets is 600 kilometers). It's a very high figure for a population of 182000. In this city there are about 200000 bicycles.

[p-snack]

Atlanta is certainly becoming more bike-friendly, more trails are under development...but it's still a major dodge when sharing the streets.

I'm just not sure about ATL. I've had 11 friends hit by cars while biking!
Seriously!!!!

Atlanta has the highest pedestrian fatality rate- biking couldn't be far behind.
But I will say, they get hit because of where they ride.
Down Moreland or other major roads- they're asking for it.

I ride the sidewalks- jump curbs and such and secondary streets.
No cop has bothered me yet-

[Teshadoh]

As an ex-bike rider in Atlanta, 'becoming' more bike friendly doesn't mean much. Atlanta is so far away from being a bikable city, it's very very sad. Most of the bike trails being built in the suburbs & city are oriented towards leisure use. Much of the residential street improvements in the city that are geared towards pedestrian safety has made it more difficult for bicyclists. And when the sidewalks are as narrow & at places nonexistant - that makes bicycling that much more harder.

Yet the Beltline bike trail will be a great asset.

Atlanta's only concilliation, all the other southeastern cities (except for colonial cities like New Orleans) aren't bike friendly either.