San Luis Obispo has been rated as the top city in the U.S. for bicycling by PeopleForBikes, a national non-profit organization that promotes bicycling for transportation and recreation.
The PeopleForBikes City Ratings program evaluates more than 550 cities and shows leaders how they can invest to make bicycling better for all community members and visitors.
Ratings are based on ridership, safety, network, reach and acceleration.
San Luis Obispo received the overall highest score of all the cities evaluated. Of the five indicators, it scored highest in acceleration (how fast the community is working to improve biking) and lowest in ridership.
Santa Barbara also made the list, ranking 4th among the best cities for bikes. It also scored highest in acceleration and lowest in ridership.
San Luis Obispo is in the process of updating bicycling policies and creating an Active Transportation Plan to include both cycling and walking. A draft is expected to be released this summer.
“This award is a true reflection of our community values for safe, sustainable and multimodal transportation,” said San Luis Obispo Active Transportation Manager, Adam Fukushima. “Creating a bicycle friendly community requires a partnership and commitment from city leaders and members of the community. The rating from PeopleForBikes is a great way to honor that hard work.”
