The League of American Bicyclists released their first annual ranking of all 50 states, showing who’s the most and the least bike friendly.  The states were scored on responses to a questionnaire evaluating their commitment to bicycling and covering 6 key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement.  Here are the top five:
1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Arizona
4. Oregon
5. Minnesota
Read “more” to see the full list and links to more info about why your state ranked the way it did…
Click here to see the details that led to each state’s rank.  As for the leader, Andy Clarke, LAB President, said Washington’s model bike laws, signed and papped statewide bike route network, dedicated state funding of bicycle projects and programs and an active advisory committee are some of the key reasons they top the list.
There are also links on that page to Bicycle Friendly Communities and Businesses.
Here’s the full rankings:
2008 STATE RANKINGS
1 Washington
2 Wisconsin
3 Arizona
4 Oregon
5 Minnesota
6 Maine
7 California
8 Illinois
9 New Jersey
10 New Hampshire
11 Utah
12 Michigan
13 North Carolina
14 Hawaii
15 South Carolina
16 Massachusetts
17 Vermont
18 Wyoming
19 Nevada
20 Florida
21 Iowa
22 Colorado
23 Virginia
24 Indiana
25 Kansas
26 Louisiana
27 Rhode Island
28 Missouri
29 Kentucky
30 Texas
31 Delaware
32 Ohio
33 Nebraska
34 New York
35 Maryland
36 Tennessee
37 Idaho
38 Pennsylvania
39 Arkansas
40 Alaska
41 South Dakota
42 Connecticut
43 Oklahoma
44 Montana
45 New Mexico
46 North Dakota
47 Mississippi
48 Alabama
49 Georgia
50 West Virginia
