US reveals top cycling cities and states
Alaska and Boston have been picked out as the state and city seeing the highest levels of cycling and walking in the US.
The Alliance for Biking and Walking published the Benchmarking Report, which found that Alaska, Vermont and New York State saw the highest numbers of riders and walkers, while in terms of US cities, Boston, Washington DC and San Francisco saw the highest levels.
The report also found that 12 per cent of all trips are by bicycle (1 per cent) or foot (10.5 per cent) and that commuting by bicycle rose an impressive 57 per cent from 2000 to 2009.
States were found to spend 1.5 per cent of their federal transport funds on cycling and walking, despite the fact that for every $1 spent investing in bicycling and walking up to $11.80 in benefits can be gained.
The report is packed with related information (including on cycle and pedestrian safety), but interestingly pointed out that cycling and walking projects create 11 to 14 jobs per $1 million spent – compared with just seven jobs created by every $1 million spent on highway projects.