Kansas is way more bike friendly today than it was yesterday.
Yesterday, Kansas was number 33 on the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly State Rankings. Today, after the League’s 2010 state rankings came out, it’s number 13.
Gee, that was easy.
The Bike League evaluates a state’s commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation, policies and programs, infrastructure, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement. League President Andy Clarke highlighted that “several states dramatically improved their ranking by updating their traffic codes, increasing the level of funding for bicycle improvements, implementing education programs aimed at cyclists and motorists, getting organized and hosting their first statewide bicycling conferences and events.”
So what did Kansas do to merit a jump of 20 spots in the rankings? I have no clue.
On the six areas, here are Kansas’s rankings for the last two years:
| Category | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| Legislation | #13 | #33 |
| Policies & Programs | #12 | #40 |
| Infrastructure | #17 | #28 |
| Education | #15 | #22 |
| Evaluation | #19 | #16 |
| Enforcement | #15 | #19 |
| Overall | #13 | #33 |
So Kansas dramatically improved almost across the board (except for “Evaluation”).
Hmmm.
Here are the rankings of our neighbors:
| State | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | #45 | #38 |
| Colorado | #14 | #13 |
| Iowa | #7 | #6 |
| Missouri | #28 | #17 |
| Nebraska | #43 | #37 |
| Oklahoma | #44 | #48 |
According to the Bike League, “The BFS program is revolutionizing the way states evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The rankings are used to create momentum amongst states and communities to continue to become more bicycle friendly.”
Congratulations, Kansas!
Let’s keep it going!
Post tags: Bicycle Friendly
Not so fast friends. If the education ranking refers to drivers knowledge of a cyclists rights, then we have to be much further down on the list than 15th in that category alone, or the criteria for ranking is very poor. I cannot tell you how poor a job KS drivers do in recognizing a cyclists right to the road. Secondly, cycling lanes in eastern KS are almost non-existent. How we received a #17 ranking in infrastructure is beyond me. Again I must question the criteria used to establish these rankings. In short, KS has a very long way to go in establishing itself as a safe haven for cyclists.