Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Safety

What Is Your State Doing to Improve Walking and Biking?

2:53 PM EDT on April 18, 2014

Screen Shot 2014-04-18 at 12.33.23 PM

How good are your state's policies on walking and biking?

The Alliance for Biking and Walking has made it easy to find out with this at-a-glance chart, released as part of its biannual Benchmarking report this week.

According to the Alliance, state policies are getting progressively better for walking and biking. Now, 34 states publish goals to increase levels of active transportation. That's up from 29 states just two years ago. Nearly every state -- 44 -- now sets goals to reduce pedestrian fatalities, and 43 states have set goals for bike fatalities. Even states that aren't known for walking and biking seem to at least be talking the talk. The Alliance reports that Florida now has a policy aiming to get more people walking, and Nevada is trying to increase cycling.

Cities are getting with the program as well, the Alliance finds.

Screen Shot 2014-04-18 at 12.34.28 PM

Of the 52 cities analyzed, 39 have set goals for increasing walking, and 47 are trying to increase bicycling. That's an increase of six cities for walking and one for bicycling since the last benchmarking report was released two years ago.

More cities are trying to improve safety as well: 37 of 52 now have goals to reduce bicycle fatalities, and 36 have set out to reduce pedestrian deaths. In the last two years, eight additional cities adopted pedestrian safety goals, while four cities did the same for bikes.

More cities and states are also adopting complete streets policies. As of December 2012, 607 complete streets policies were in place across the U.S. That was a near doubling of 2011 levels.

Screen Shot 2014-04-18 at 1.30.04 PM

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

The Price Is Right for Tuesday’s Headlines

If congestion pricing works in New York City, City Lab predicts that other U.S. cities will quickly follow suit.

November 28, 2023

Top NJ Lawmaker Proposes Major Reforms to Fight Temporary License Plate Fraud

The new legislation follows a seven-month Streetsblog investigation that found widespread fraud involving temp tags, with car dealers abusing weak state regulations and selling paper plates illegally to drivers using them to evade accountability on the road.

November 28, 2023

DOT’s New Emissions Rule is a Big Deal, Even if It Doesn’t Punish States for Polluting

No states will face penalties for building needless toxic road projects — but they also won't be able to hide those impacts from the public.

November 27, 2023

Monday’s Headlines Need Less Oil

E-bikes are a great alternative for short trips, and they're actually saving more fossil fuels that electric cars.

November 27, 2023

Highway Boondoggles 2023: This Bridge is a Bridge Too Far

Presented by local transportation authorities as a simple bridge replacement, an expensive, oversized highway expansion threatens to worsen congestion in Vancouver and Portland

November 27, 2023
See all posts