RI #25 in 2013 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings
Monday, May 06, 2013
The League of American Bicyclists recently released its sixth annual "Bicycle Friendly State Rankings" to celebrate the month of May as "National Bike Month" -- and Rhode Island came in at #25.
The rankings looked at such categories as legislation and enforcement, policies and programs, infrastructure and funding, education and encouragement, and evaluation and planning.
In addition, states were judged on "top ten signs of success," including people commuting by bike, safe passing/vulnerable road user law, complete streets policy, dedicated state funding, active state advocacy group, state bicycle plan, share the road campaign, bicycle education for police, bicycle safety emphasis in strategic highway plan, and being a top ten state for congestion mitigation and quality spending.
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At #25, Rhode Island was the fifth ranked New England state in 2013. New Hampshire was sixth at #27.
Vermont was fourth at #23, Connecticut third at #18, Maine second at #13, and Massachusetts ranked tops in the region with a #6 national ranking.
Matt Moritz with the Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition saw Rhode Island's ranking as reflective of number of factors.
"It's a mix of things, its quiet rural roads with low traffic, its the commitment to separated facilities like the Blackstone and East Bay multi-use paths. We have scenic beauty and historically significant places that are viewable and reachable by bicycle throughout the state," said Moritz.
Moritz said that there were areas the state could continue to work to improve. "From an infrastructure point of view, we need to get the paths connected to each other so that those who don't want to ride on a road with other vehicles can reach every corner of the state in safety and comfort."
"We really need a stronger commitment from our legislature, law enforcement and other agencies to take injuries to people not in a vehicle seriously. We need to design and build roads and intersections that take into account that motorized vehicles aren't the only uses of the roads, that people on foot and bicycles need to be able to use and cross the roads to get to their destinations," said Moritz.
"The Annual Bike Friendly States rankings point out that Rhode Island isn't doing the worst, but also isn't doing great things that would make it a top 10 state. Improving the legal and enforcement aspects would go far towards lifting RI more in line with the other New England states, as would development of programs to encourage and educate drivers and prospective bike users," said Moritz. "We are uniquely positioned by our size, history, location and geography to be a place that people from around the world come to ride a bicycle."
Information can be found about state bicycling efforts and policy at the RI DOT website here.
For a complete list of the 2013 Bicycle Friendly State Rankings, go here.
