Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize created a list of the top 20 bike cities world wide, and the only US city on the list is Minneapolis at number 18.
American cities—often content with baby steps—are in desperate need of leadership, and Minneapolis has emerged as a contender.
Colville-Anderson does call out Minneapolis, though, to stop bragging about how tough its riders are and start laying down some real infrastructure:
What will help the city is to stop talking about the winter and to focus on getting a massive rise in ridership during the rest of the year. Minneapolis would do well to increase its commitment to protected infrastructure and to focus on making the continent’s best on-street network, and the first city NOT to feature sharrows.
Hometown pride aside, I’m not sure I’d rank Minneapolis above Portland. They have different positive attributes, and a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. Just look at this sea of green in Portland!
But the Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan is looking very nice. The bike infrastructure that has come online in the 3 years since I’ve been gone has been pretty awesome. Keep it coming, Minneapolis.
