A new report on funding for bicyclists and pedestrians concludes that although 12 percent of all trips in the US are made by bicycle or on foot, the federal government spends just 1.6 percent of its transportation dollars, or $2.17 per capita, on bike and pedestrian infrastructure (like bike lanes and sidewalks)—a mismatch the Cascade Bicycle Club calls patently “not fair.”
Seattle, interestingly, ranked fourth among 51 American cities both in biking and walking rates (third in cycling—behind Portland and Minneapolis—and fifth in walking) and among the lowest numbers of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. However, we were 33rd on a list of those same cities in our rate of funding for bike and ped infrastructure per capita.
We also ranked in the top third of cities in terms of “mode share” (the number of people who get around on bikes or on foot), safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, policies that benefit cyclists and pedestrians, and advocacy. We ranked in the middle third on funding for bike and ped projects and “safety/encouragement.” Specifically, Seattle was ranked 12th among the 51 cities on safety for cyclists, and sixth among safety for pedestrians.
The study also dings Seattle for not providing enough parking for bikes in public buildings and for not providing adequate bike parking at public events, and credits the city for fining drivers ($124) for failing to yield to bikes, requiring bike parking in new buildings, and—oddly, since Seattle doesn’t have a maximum parking policy—for restricting the number of parking spaces for cars in new developments.
Read the whole report, which includes tons of additional data about cities including Seattle, here.
