DC loves its rankings, and the newest one is nothing to sneeze at. Just in time to celebrate Bike to Work Day tomorrow, DC has been ranked one of the ten most bike-friendly cities in the United States.
The ranking comes from Walk Score, a website that rates neighborhoods for their “bikeability.” Each city was ranked on a scale of 1 to 100. Minneapolis received the highest score, 79, making it “very bikeable” (biking is convenient for most trips).
Walk Score determined a city’s grade by weighing four components: bike lanes, hills, destinations and road connectivity, and the number of bike commuters. DC received a 65, making it the sixth-most bikeable city. A score between 50 and 69 meant a city was bikeable, with some bike infrastructure.
No city received a score of 90 to 100, which is described as a “biker’s paradise.” However, researchers noted that cities smaller than 200,000 were not included in the list, meaning Boulder, Colorado, was left off even though it scored an 86.
Walk Score determined that DC’s high score was thanks to bike lanes around downtown, lack of hills, and bikeable destinations.
Other bikeable cities that made the list were Portland, San Francisco, Boston, Madison, Seattle, Tucson, New York, and Chicago.
Do you agree with DC’s ranking? Take our poll. If you’re not pleased with District’s score, Walk Score is encouraging you to tweet your grievances with the hashtag #bikescore.
