Even though the automobile is still the king of the American commute by a considerable stretch, that doesn't necessarily mean US cities are particularly unfriendly to cyclists. In fact, many cities across the United States are making huge strides in implementing safe and efficient bike lanes.
Take Tucson for example. The city developed a 2009 Regional Plan for Bicycling and identified 170 miles of potential "Bicycle Boulevards". This term refers attractive, convenient and comfortable sections of street, optimized for cycling with reduced motorized traffic. The introduction of Cyclovia events (Spanish word signifying the closure of a street network) has motivated thousands of Tucsonans ditch their cars and spend a few hours in the city's temporarily traffic-free streets.
Tucson's efforts have been paying off - bicycle commuting has increased 58 percent and the city now boasts an excellent network of bike lanes stretching 610 miles! San Diego has also turned into a cyclist's paradise in recent years with a 620 mile network, putting it on top of the national scale while San Francisco comes first for total miles per square mile with 7.8.
The very first bike lane appeared in New York all the way back in 1894 and in 2014, the city has 338 miles of on-street bike lanes. Sharing schemes like Citi Bike are proving highly successful and a survey carried out in 2012 showed that most New Yorkers are in favor of more bike lanes.
*Click below to enlarge (charted by Statista)
