Familiar List for Top 10 Bicycle-Friendly Cities

From the Planetizen web site we find that AskMen.com has come out with their list of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities. Says AskMen.com:

"With the cost of fuel skyrocketing and environmental conservation having become fashinonable, a well-known 120-year-old invention is making a comeback. The bike in its well-worn simplicity is quickly becoming a major part of urban community transportation plans. Bicycles have numerous benefits, but it takes a serious commitment to city planning to make those benfits practical."

It seems there are some things in common in these cities. Plenty of bike paths and bike-only lanes, loads of bike parking, bike-sharing programs and vibrant bike culture. As a result all of these cities have a high bike mode share. We here in the DC region can learn something from each of these cities and apply it here. I like Trondheim's bicycle lifts that act like ski tows and allow the rider to glide up a hill without having to pedal (check out the video here). Will our region someday make this list? For now here's AskMen's list:

AskMen.Com Top 10: Bicycle-Friendly Cities

1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Bogota, Colombia
4. Curitiba, Brazil
5. Montreal, Canada
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Basel, Switzerland
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Beijing, China
10. Trondheim, Norway

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Transportation Bureau Chief for Arlington County in the Department of Environmental Services, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Comments

[Allen Muchnick]

The primary influence on bicycle mode share is financial and other disincentives to motoring, whereas bikeway development is a minor influence at best. In the U.S., motoring and parking are far less costly and much more convenient that nearly everywhere else.

Also, in the Washington DC region, the existence of high-quality and heavily subsidized public transportation reduces the bicycling mode share substantially. That's not necessarily bad, but decision makers need to realize that many fewer people will bike to work when their commute on transit is entirely paid by their employer.

[Geographically aware]

Stupid list. There are probably 20 or 30 cities in the Netherlands alone that are more "bike friendly" than Portland OR.