Philadelphia is the #1 Large City for Biking

Walkscore, the company that measures the walkability and bikeability of neighborhoods nationwide has just released a list of the Most Bikeable Cities in the country.  Philadelphia is the #1 Large City for biking in the United States.

The Philadelphia Bike Score Heat Map

The Bike Score methodology examines the number and length of bike lanes, the amount of hills, the level of bicycle and road network connectivity, the number of destinations that can be reached by bicycle, and the mode share of bike commuters in each city.

The city has worked hard to make bicycling in Philadelphia a safe and convenient mode of transportation.  Recently, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and the Streets Department have installed eight new bike corrals and over 500 new bike parking spaces across the city.  Additionally, there are over 200 miles of bikes lanes in Philadelphia.

A bike corral near Reading Terminal Market

Even though Philadelphia is ranked first for large cities, there is still room for improvement.  Overall Philadelphia ranks as the 9^th best city for biking.  Based on the heat map, Philadelphia scores very well on hills and bike lanes, but not as good for mode share.

Philadelphia is already taking action to become an even better city for bicycling.  Bike share is scheduled for launch in 2014 and the Complete Streets program encourages bicycle commuting.

Philadelphia is #1 for Big Cities, lets make it #1 for all cities.

Want to know more?

The Philly Post article

Philadelphia’s Bike Score