BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

YEAH, DUDES! Last century, we always made the "10 worst cities to bike in." To be fair, some of that had to do with topography, but a lot had to do with outdated infrastructure and a hostile attitude of drivers. These days, if I leave the East End, I still might get yelled at, but there is a real possibility that I won't. Not so last century. A round trip to South Park from Oaklandwould typically have a few incidents.

I think in 2012 we were 35, now we're 21. So we're sort of on track to make Peduto's goal of top ten cities. But I really think the competition has to be weak. Sure, we've got some bike lanes, and the biking community (& BikePgh) is great, plus there's the GAP, but we also have some really crappy roads, yinzer drivers, and lots of places like the South Hills that are only accessible to really strong riders.

While the competition is weak (laughably so in the US) it's a great time to push extra hard. We can really make a name for ourselves here.

OBTW.....We crushed our football rival cities Cincinnati (35th) and Cleveland (50th).

"But I really think the competition has to be weak..." I would tend to disagree. Middle tier American cities are grinding out bike infrastructure all over the place, like Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville, even Or-freaking-lando Fla. Once people SEE the affect bike lanes have, they scream for it. I anticipate that in the very near future, the dam is going to absolutely break, bike infrastructure will be rolling out like Kudzu.

For reference and comparison...Top 5 Cities....New York City, Chicago, Minniapolis, Portland and Washinton DC.

FWIW I thought DC sort of sucked as a biking city when I was there a few weeks ago. The bike lanes are way too crowded. And the roads are crowded and dangerous.

Comparing small college cities like Boulder, Ann Arbor, Gainesville, Madison, etc to older Mid-sized cities like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland is comparing apples to oranges. Even comparing smaller cities such as Scottsdale, Boise, Charleston, Grand Rapids, etc to larger cities is also apples to oranges. We will never get to the top 10 if these are in the list. Small college towns have far less to deal with and typically a better overall tax base contributed by the local college per ratio of population. I also don't have the current list. I am still referring to 2012. But we should try to compete with cities like; Milwaukee, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland, Kansas City, Columbus, etc. I am sure the bike share program will kick us up a notch when it get s implemented. What I find surprising is; Salt Lake isn't higher for a western recreational town next to the mountains. Miami is on the list. I travel there for work, but never cycled there. There are bike lanes on many roads, but that means a lane on the side of a three lane straight road with bustling cars moving 80 MPH crossing through the "Bike lanes" to get into the endless strip malls and parking lots. Would not be for me. I would rather just take the lane on a old narrow Pittsburgh street than deal with what I see down there. And talk about cyclist who don't follow the rules....