(WANE) An organization that’s been in existence since 1880 has issued its list of bicycle friendly states as part of Bike to Work Week. The League of American Bicyclists ranks Indiana a 37th when it comes to “bikeability.” The League looked at five categories when determining the ranking: Legislation & Enforcement, Policies and Programs, Infrastructure & Funding, Education & Encouragement, and Education & Planning.
The top five states were Washington, followed by Minnesota, Delaware, Massachusetts and Utah. Alabama came in dead last. To view a PDF of the entire state rankings, click here.
Over the past seven years, Indiana has ranked as high as 19 in 2012 and as low as 42 in 2014.
The League also compiles lists of bicycle friendly communities and universities. Fort Wayne was one of eight communities named in the 2014 list, earning Bronze status. Bloomington received the highest community level with a Gold status. Carmel, Columbus, Goshen, Indianapolis, South Bend and Warsaw/Winona Lake also achieved Bronze status.
The League considers what it calls The 5 E’s when determining whether a community is bicycle friendly:
- Engineering: Creating safe and convenient places to ride and park
- Education: Giving people of all ages and abilities the skills and confidence to ride
- Encouragement: Creating a strong bike culture that welcomes and celebrates biking
- Enforcement: Ensuring safe roads tor all users
- Evaluation & Planning: Planning for bicycling as a safe and viable transportation option
Indiana University was the only one in the state to be awarded Bicycle Friendly University status.
To view the detailed ranking for Indiana, click here.
