The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has released its latest report on the local state of two-wheeled nation, and things are looking rather sunny. Making the city more bikable is not only great for the health and safety of the community, but also beneficial to air quality, traffic and street noise. The findings were drawn from nine years of data from the Bicycle Coalition's annual bike counts; the report also employs U.S. Census Bureau data to place Philadelphia within a national context.
Some of the top findings include:
– Philadelphia remains the top big American city for bicycle commuting.
– Between 2005 and 2013, bicycle commuting across the Schuylkill River rose 260 percent.
– The South Street Bridge carries 44 percent of all bicycle traffic across the Schuylkill (the only bridge where ridership rates have dropped is Market Street — a bridge withouth bike-friendly design features).
– South Philly and Center City are top-25 neighborhoods for bike commuting in the country.
– Since 2009, the neighborhoods with the largest growth in bicycle commuting are Southwest Philadelphia, Brewerytown/Temple University area, and Fishtown/Kensington.
– Buffered bicycle lanes attract more bicyclists, more female bicyclists and more law-abiding bicyclists than streets with regular or no bike lanes.
– The upcoming bike share program should help accelerate these trends.