Congratulations to Anchorage, which made the Bicycling magazine “America’s Best Bike Cities” rankings of the top 50 cities for biking.
Anchorage ranked No. 47, and it is the only city in Alaska large enough to qualify for the rankings, which are open to cities with populations greater than 100,000.
Minneapolis earned the coveted No. 1 spot, and the Pacific Northwest did quite well with three of the top five spots in the rankings. Following Minneapolis were Portland, Ore., at No. 2; Boulder, Colo., at No. 3; Seattle at No. 4 and Eugene, Ore., at No. 5. Rounding out the top 10 were San Francisco; Madison, Wis.; New York City; Tucson, Ariz.; and Chicago. Click the link above for the complete list.
Here is what Bicycling magazine had to say about the rankings:
There are many unspectacular but important things a city can do to gain our consideration for this list. Maybe you’ve heard of them, or maybe — given the pace of change these days — you’ve already begun to enjoy them: segregated bike lanes, municipal bike racks and bike boulevards, to name a few. If you have those things in your town, cyclists probably have the ear of the local government — another key factor. To make our Top 50, a city must also support a vibrant and diverse bike culture. It must have smart, savvy bike shops. A few notes: We considered only cities with populations of 100,000 or more. We strove for geographical diversity, to avoid having a list dominated by California’s many bike-oriented cities. If your town isn’t named below — or if it falls on our worst-cities list — then use this as an opportunity to do something about it, like cyclists in Miami did after their city earned a black mark in 2008. And if your city is one of the 50 lauded below? Go out and enjoy a ride.
Alaska Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance 
Leave a Reply