Big U.S. cities convene to improve urban bicycling

Transportation officials from seven big U.S. cities gathered Oct. 1-2 in Portland, Oregon, to strategize on how to improve the safety, comfort and convenience of bicycling in urbanized areas. Bikes Belong, the League of American Bicyclists and the SRAM Cycling Fund supported this unprecedented initiative, which was tentatively labeled as a gathering of a Coalition of
Progressive Bicycling Cities.

Engineers and planners from Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Seattle joined the Portland hosts in discussions about best practices for bicycle infrastructure in cities and how high-quality bicycle facilities can help address pressing urban challenges such as traffic congestion, high parking infrastructure costs and poor air quality. The group also met with a blue-ribbon panel of European bike planners, representing Denmark, the Netherlands, and the European Union.

"Bicycling has great potential to help America's largest cities," said Bikes Belong executive director Tim Blumenthal, noting that tight spaces and a need to make mostly short trips make cities well-suited to bicycle use. "These cities rank among the U.S. leaders in developing innovative practices in urban bicycling that are enabling more people to
ride bicycles more often."