{"id":120,"date":"2026-06-29T12:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=120"},"modified":"2026-06-29T12:39:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T12:39:27","slug":"annual-best-bike-city-rankings-yields-small-town-surprises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=120","title":{"rendered":"Annual ‘Best Bike City’ Rankings Yields Small Town Surprises"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Small towns are leading the nation in bikeability, and even the best big cities can take note.<\/p>\n

Read more Interview: \u2018Arrested Mobility\u2019 Star Charles T. Brown On Why The New \u2018Bikelash\u2019 Is A Misdirection Ploy<\/a><\/p>\n

Bicycle advocacy nonprofit PeopleForBikes released its annual city rankings last week, grading more 3,000 US cities\u2019 bike networks. It found that small cities \u2013 those with less than 50,000 residents \u2013 are leading the pack in creating safe, vibrant streets for cyclists.<\/p>\n

Three communities this year achieved a perfect score, each with less than 2,500 residents. Car-free Mackinac Island, Mich.; Old Orchard, Penn.; and Crested Butte, Col. all earned a maximum score of 100. Big cities struggle to implement basic bike infrastructure, but these tiny jurisdictions are showing what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

Major municipalities still made headways in reducing car dependency across the US. This year\u2019s big city winners \u2013 led by Brooklyn scoring a 70, Minneapolis at 68, and Seattle at 66 \u2013 have designed ample opportunities for safe, pleasant, and useful biking. The long-car-dominated New York City borough of Queens and San Francisco round out the top five.<\/p>\n

Medium-sized cities Hoboken at 83, Rochester Hills, Mich. at 80, and Anchorage at 72 performed best in their class. <\/p>\n

A total 555 jurisdictions have bike networks suitable for everyday riders, indicated by a score of 50 or higher. That number more than doubles last year\u2019s count of 234.<\/p>\n

PeopleForBikes updated its scoring methodology for this year\u2019s rankings, better reflecting priorities in safe cycling. The revision incorporates changes made to NACTO\u2019s definition of low-stress streets, updated for the first time in a decade last year. It also integrates the latest census data and improves upon infrastructure classifications from previous years.<\/p>\n

Read more Friday\u2019s Headlines Change Their Rhetoric<\/a><\/p>\n

The analysis follows a two-step process weighing both the existence of bikeable streets and their usefulness. First, PeopleForBikes uses Open Street Maps data to identify \u201clow-stress\u201d streets and intersections, or those more likely to present a comfortable and safe biking experience. Then, it assesses each street\u2019s ability to connect people to common destinations, such as grocery stores, hospitals, and other people.<\/p>\n

Corridors often require extensive infrastructure dedicated to bicycles to earn a \u201clow-stress\u201d designation, particularly in larger communities with high volumes of cars. Narrow roads and uncontrolled intersections, found throughout smaller cities, naturally reduce vehicle speeds.<\/p>\n

Small cities design roads safely from the get-go, obviating traditional infrastructure altogether. None of the three jurisdictions with perfect scores possess a single conventional bike lane. They instead rely on low-traffic, low-speed roads and a few off-road paths to earn their marks.<\/p>\n

Eight communities took home a \u201cmost improved\u201d title, indicating significant improvements from their 2025 scores. Leading the pack are Mill Valley, Calif., which jumped to 57 points, an increase of 54 percent. The Northern California suburb is followed by Tampa and West Hollywood with respective 40- and 23-percent increases.<\/p>\n

No doubt, U.S. cities have a long way to go in making their bike networks safe, pleasant, and useful. Improvements in communities of every population size and region indicate a positive prognosis \u2013 and a toolkit for who to copy.<\/p>\n

To see how your city\u2019s bike network stacks up, and to view the full ranking, visit cityratings.peopleforbikes.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Talking Headways Podcast: The Transit \u2018Abundance\u2019 Playbook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PeopleForBikes finds which cities are leading the charge in bikeability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bicycle-infrastructure"],"yoast_head":"\nAnnual ‘Best Bike City’ Rankings Yields Small Town Surprises - Urban Atlas Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=120\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Annual ‘Best Bike City’ Rankings Yields Small Town Surprises - Urban Atlas Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PeopleForBikes finds which cities are leading the charge in bikeability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=120\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Urban Atlas Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T12:39:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/036f6ba8a22b3d538020592ea1365862\"},\"headline\":\"Annual ‘Best Bike City’ Rankings Yields Small Town Surprises\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T12:39:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120\"},\"wordCount\":541,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/7b87736746bca7941b08bdb50e15d7c1-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Bicycle Infrastructure\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/urbanatlasmedia.com\\\/?p=120\",\"name\":\"Annual ‘Best Bike City’ Rankings Yields Small Town Surprises - 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