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States
The Bicycle Friendly State℠ program is designed to establish best practices — we know every state has great riding opportunities, dedicated state-agency staff, determined advocates and cyclists of all stripes working to make a state great for cycling.
The League annually ranks all 50 states on how bikeable they are.
The League annually ranks all 50 states on how bikeable they are. We do this based on a multi-faceted Bicycle Friendly State℠ (BFS℠) questionnaire that is answered by each state’s Bicycle Coordinator.
Because of an overlap in data collected for the League's Bicycle Friendly States program and the Alliance for Biking and Walking's Benchmarking Report, the League and Alliance partnered in 2012 and merged the two state surveys to eliminate redundancy and simplify the process for respondents.
The data collected is verified by League staff in concert with advocates in each state. States that continue to promote bicycling and improve conditions can expect to improve their scores.
The BFS annual ranking measures the states bikeability but does not include everything states can and should do for bicycling. The BFS ranking process illustrates general performance needs.
Traditionally, the BFS rankings show that there are fantastic efforts to emulate and there is still a lot of work to be done to increase bikeability in states – from the bottom to the top of the BFS ranked list.
2013 Bicycle Friendly State Ranking
Scroll through the map images to see how your state scores in our five categories, detailed below.
Scroll through the map images to see how your state scores in our five categories, detailed below.
Scroll through the map images to see how your state scores in our five categories, detailed below.
Categories
Legislation & Enforcement
The Legislation and Enforcement component of the BFS questionnaire covers basic laws and regulations that govern bicycling. Questions include whether cyclists can legally use the shoulder, signal turns with either hand or leave the right-hand portion of the road when their safety requires it. This section also covers motorist responsibilities like passing at a minimum of three feet, making sure traffic is clear before opening automobile doors, and gathers data on the types of training law enforcement officers and traffic court judges receive to ensure protection of cyclists’ rights to the road and safe travel on our shared roadways.
Programs & Policies
The Programs & Policies component of the BFS questionnaire covers what state agency requirements are for accommodating cyclists, be it a Complete Streets policy, a plan or agreement for mountain bike trails, how much state agency staff time is dedicated to bicycling, and whether or not bicycling is included as part of the state’s carbon-reduction plan.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure and how it’s funded is a critical element of the BFS questionnaire, and the questions aim at collecting data on specific performance measurements, i.e. in the amount of facilities and spending amounts for bicycling. Other examples include the percentage of state highways with shoulders, signed bike routes, trail miles, and bicycle-related project obligation rates for available federal funding. As states improve their numbers for many of the BFS questions, the bar will continue to rise for states in regards to bicycle-friendliness.
Education & Encouragement
The Education & Encouragement section covers the amount of bicycling education in the state for adult and youth cyclists, and individual and professional motorists. A few ways that states can educate drivers on the road about cycling, for example, are Share the Road campaigns and questions concerning cyclists’ rights in state drivers’ exams. States can encourage more and better bicycling by promoting bicycling tourism, producing bike maps and collaborating with state and local advocacy groups, along with education efforts.
Evaluation & Planning
The Evaluation & Planning section of the BFS questionnaire surveys how bicycling is incorporated into each state’s yearly planning. Questions address the way bicycling is included in the highway safety plan, outdoor recreation plan and/or bicycle transportation plan. This section also measures results of the state’s bicycle/car crash rates and bike commuting rates.
