Minneapolis, Portland And San Francisco Top Walk Score Ranking Of Most Bikeable Cities

SEATTLE, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Walk Score™, the only site that makes it easy for apartment renters and homebuyers to find neighborhoods where they can drive less and live more, announced today the long anticipated launch of Bike Score™. Bike Score is the only quantitative measure of the bikeability of a location based on the availability of bike lanes, hilliness, road connectivity, nearby amenities, and the percent of people in that area who bike to work.

"Bicycling saves money on gas and fosters better health and a cleaner environment. But the best part about it is not being trapped in traffic. Biking can turn your commute into the best part of your day," said Josh Herst, CEO, Walk Score. "Across the country, biking is growing in popularity and we're excited to celebrate Bike to Work Week by introducing Bike Score to help more people find bicycle friendly places to live."

Top 10 Most Bikeable Cities

1. Minneapolis (Bike Score: 79)

2. Portland (Bike Score: 70)

3. San Francisco (Bike Score: 70)

4. Boston (Bike Score: 68)

5. Madison (Bike Score: 67)

6. Washington, D.C. (Bike Score: 65)

7. Seattle (Bike Score: 64)


8. Tucson (Bike Score: 64)


9. New York (Bike Score: 62)

10. Chicago (Bike Score: 62)

"There's no doubt that Bike Score will add to the growing number of riders in these leading cities by helping everyday cyclists, and those who want to give biking a try, find bikeable neighborhoods and commutes," said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists, sponsor of Bike to Work Week and the Bicycle Friendly America program.

At launch, Bike Score is available in the ten U.S. cities listed above. Bike Score heat maps are also available for ten of the largest Canadian cities including Toronto, Montreal and Calgary.

To request Bike Score for your city, visit www.walkscore.com/bike. Walk Score will add Bike Score for the top 10 cities receiving votes between May 14 and May 31, 2012.

Bicycling by the Numbers

With gas prices rising, more Americans are looking to get out of their cars and find other ways to get around. Bicycling offers a fun and affordable solution especially for people living in neighborhoods with limited access to public transportation and where distances are too far to walk to work or shopping.

• Americans made 4 billion trips by bicycle in 2009, more than twice as many as in 2001.(1)
• Bike commuting increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2010.(2)
• 71 percent of Americans say they would like to bicycle more than they do now.(3)

How Bike Score Works

Bike Score provides a 0-100 rating of the bikeability of a location based on the availability of bike infrastructure (lanes and trails), the hilliness of the area, amenities and road connectivity, and the number of bike commuters. The Bike Score for a city is then calculated by applying the Bike Score algorithm block-by-block throughout the city and weighting the scores by population density. Cities with scores of 70 or higher are considered to be very bikeable, cities with scores between 50 and 69 are bikeable, and cities with scores below 50 are somewhat bikeable.

Walk Score received thousands of votes for over one hundred ideas from customers on how to calculate Bike Score. Bike Score was developed in collaboration with, and a grant from, the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Detailed methodology information is available at http://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml.

"We are thrilled to partner with the popular and well-regarded Walk Score to extend our research to consumers," said Meghan Winters, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University.

"Bike Score will help cities measure and improve their cycling infrastructure, a key to increasing ridership," said Michael Brauer, Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, who also contributed to the development of the Bike Score methodology.

About Walk Score

Walk Score makes it easy for apartment renters and homebuyers to find neighborhoods where they can drive less and live more. Walk Score believes that walkable neighborhoods with access to public transit, shorter commutes, and proximity to the people and places you love are the key to a happier, healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. Walk Score delivers more than 6 million scores for apartment and home addresses per day across a network of over 15,000 real estate sites. Walk Score's Advisory Board includes urban planning, environmental and technical experts from organizations such as Sightline Institute and The Brookings Institution. According to independent research conducted by CEOs for Cities, one point of Walk Score adds up to $3,000 to home values. To find your Walk Score, enter your address at www.walkscore.com.

(1) U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, 2009


(2) http://www.americabikes.org/2012survey


(3) National Survey of Bicyclist and Pedestrian Attitudes and Behavior, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Media contact:
Anne Taylor Hartzell  [email protected] / 206.850.6501

SOURCE Walk Score