Biking Towns

29 Jul 2003 13:28:59 -0700, <[email hidden]>,

(Steven) said:

Ok, I think I know the big cycling towns in the states what are they in Europe? I would like
people's input mostly about Europe, but the states might be interesting too

US:

Boulder San Diego Santa Barbara

Unless you're counting the modal share for commuting, I don't know what you consider as "big cycling
towns". If people are actively using bicycles instead of cars, it's a good town for cycling and a
better town for humans.

Tucson and San Francisco are the only two US cities that, according to census figures, have more
than two percent of commuters travelling by bicycle. Seattle, Minneapolis and Portland are next with
over 1.5%.

Compare to these cities: Copenhagen, Denmark 34% Amsterdam, Netherlands 24% Odense, Denmark 30%
Groningen, Netherlands 39% Delft, Netherlands 35% Munster, Germany 34% Freiburg, Germany 28%
(Parker, 1966; Netherlands Ministry of Transport, 1995)

Vancouver, BC Canada, where I live, rains much of the year and has some large lumps to negotiate
crossing town, yet our bicycle commuters comprise anywhere from 1.7% to 2.2% of the traffic entering
the downtown core depending on who is doing the counting, when.

University towns will have more cyclists than usually found in other North American cities.

Check out bikesatwork.combikesatwork.comOpen ↗ for census data on car-free US cities.

Bike paths and lanes alone do not make a city cycle friendly. It takes people riding bikes
to do that.
--
zk

(Steven) said:

Ok, I think I know the big cycling towns in the states what are they in Europe?

Every town in The Netherlands. And the countryside in between.

Don <donwiss at panix.com>.

In article said:

Ok, I think I know the big cycling towns in the states what are they in Europe? I would like
people's input mostly about Europe, but the states might be interesting too

US:

Boulder San Diego Santa Barbara

Eugene Santa Cruz

(and most small towns I've lived in, say 25,000 people or less)

--Paul

Zoot Katz <[email hidden]> wrote:
: ... Minneapolis ... are next with over 1.5%.
:
: Compare to these cities: Copenhagen, Denmark 34%

hey come on, give us some credit here: minneapolis is colder than [censored] 6 months of the year. i've
always been very proud of that statistic! you should try getting out of the rain and trying some ice
biking, zoot. it's actually pretty fun. improves your bike handling.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

30 Jul 2003 18:45:38 GMT, <[email hidden]>, David Reuteler

Quoted message said:

Zoot Katz <[email hidden]> wrote:
: ... Minneapolis ... are next with over 1.5%.
:
: Compare to these cities: Copenhagen, Denmark 34%

hey come on, give us some credit here: minneapolis is colder than [censored] 6 months of the year. i've
always been very proud of that statistic! you should try getting out of the rain and trying some
ice biking, zoot. it's actually pretty fun. improves your bike handling.

I was impressed by Minneapolis' figures when it's compared to other US cities with more cycling
friendly climates. It means somebody there is doing something right.

I was robbed this year. We didn't get any snow. Two years ago we had some and I was out in it.
There's a studded front all set to roll if it should snow enough to warrant putting it on.
--
zk

Towns -- especially smaller to medium sized towns -- that have large universities located in them
tend to be good bicycling areas.

"Actually34" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Towns -- especially smaller to medium sized towns -- that have large universities located in them
tend to be good bicycling areas.

SIU Edwardsville, Illinois, then, with11,000 people in the '80's, plus another 12,000 or so students
(mostly commuters at the time) is where I really got into cycling.

--
Robin Hubert <[email hidden]