{"id":948683,"date":"2026-07-21T01:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/948683\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T01:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T01:59:27","slug":"many-locals-say-people-for-bikes-rating-chicago-as-tied-for-worst-was-wrong-but-what-should-we-do-to-improve-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/948683\/","title":{"rendered":"Many locals say People for Bikes rating Chicago as tied for worst was wrong. But what *should* we do to improve cycling?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This post is sponsored by the\u00a0Active Transportation Alliance.<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out People For Bikes\u2019 2026 City Ratings report here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out their 2026 ratings for Chicago here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

As I recently discussed<\/a>, the Boulder-based, bike industry-funded nonprofit People for Bikes<\/a> previously ranked Chicago as one of the worst U.S. cities for cycling with a population of at least 300,000 in in\u00a02020<\/a>,\u00a02021<\/a>,\u00a02022<\/a>,\u00a02023<\/a>,\u00a02024<\/a>, and\u00a02025.<\/a> In this year\u2019s PFB City Ratings study,<\/a> the group really went for the brass ring by putting us in last place, tied with El Paso, out of 73 large American cities.<\/p>\n

As I pointed out, this dismal position is largely due to the fact most of Chicago\u2019s speed limit signs have a \u201c30\u201d painted on them, rather than a \u201c25.\u201d And a People for Bikes staffer once mentioned to me that if our city simply lowered the default speed limit by 5 mph (something SBC has strongly advocated for<\/a>), our city would be ranked near the top of their list. That\u2019s illustrated by this PFB chart from last year that shows how our rating plummeted in 2020 when they started giving a lot more weight to speed limits.<\/p>\n

\"\"Last year\u2019s chart. Image: People for Bikes<\/p>\n

My recent article about this year\u2019s rankings gave the Chicago Department of Transportation a chance to defend itself. They provided a list of recent accomplishments<\/a> that have made our city more bike-friendly, ranging from surpassing 500 miles of bikeways,<\/a> to setting a new \u00a0a record\u00a0Divvy bike-share ridership record<\/a>, to distributing nearly 5,000 free bicycles to lower-income Chicagoans.<\/p>\n

But, as promised<\/a>, here are some reactions to the new People for Bikes rating of the Windy City from regular folks, collected via the SBC Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chicagoans weigh in on the PFB ratings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c[The 2026 PFB Chicago critique] is obviously a ridiculous rating,\u201d commented Cynthia Hoyle on our FB post. \u201cYes, Chicago needs to improve its bicycle network and reduce speed limits, but the cities they ranked higher, like Nashville, or Tulsa leaves their rankings without credibility. They don\u2019t include crashes or fatalities or even bike trips in the rankings so people\u2019s lives don\u2019t count, only infrastructure and speed limits. As a transportation planner of over 40 years I find their rankings ludicrous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we really care?\u201d responded Justyn Frank, co-owner of Jefferson Park\u2019s Cosmic Bikes.<\/a> \u201cI\u2019ve been cycling in Chicago (and getting thousands of people cycling in Chicago) since 1994. Some things have gotten worse. Some things have gotten better. Welcome to Planet Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Biking on the Lakefront Trail this afternoon. Photo: John Greenfield<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile reducing the default speed limit is important, having this single measure be so heavily weighted in their rating system produces results that may bear little resemblance to actual riding conditions on local streets and trails,\u201d opined \u201cSylvie Cat\u201d on our FB post. \u201cThe network of bike routes, how many miles are buffered, bollard-protected, or curb-protected bike lanes and the continuity of the route network should be seriously considered. If that isn\u2019t done, their ratings will continue to have little credibility.\u201d <\/p>\n

PFB does put some emphasis on<\/a> the quantity and connectivity of low-stress bikeway (off-street paths, protected lanes, and traffic-calmed side street routes, aka Neighborhood Greenways<\/a>). But judging from the above chart, it appears that speed limit is the main deciding factor nowadays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is incredibly dumb and they should be embarrassed,\u201d posted Kaveh Hemmat on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are obviously clueless fools,\u201d wrote Steve Magnone. <\/p>\n

OK, that last one may be going a little overboard. But it seems like the general consensus among our readers is that People for Bikes atrocious rating of Windy City cycling was off-base.<\/p>\n

Tribune readers talk about how to improve Chicago cycling<\/strong><\/p>\n

But now that that issue seems to be resolved, here\u2019s a more important one. If Chicagoans also generally agree that our city has lots of room for improvement before it becomes a truly safe and pleasant place to ride bikes, what do we need to do make that happen?<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the generally car-centric<\/a> Tribune opinion page was actually a great source of discussion about ways to improve Chicago cycling. Here are a few of the highlights.<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago needs a connected citywide network of protected lanes, not isolated segments that disappear where riding becomes dangerous,\u201d wrote James Pelton<\/a> on Friday, July 3.<\/a> \u201cBuild them in every part of the city. Maintain them year-round. Design intersections so protection continues through the places where crashes are most likely. It can be done, and this is a city that can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, July 4<\/a>, Jadie Oldfield<\/a> mourned CDOT Planner Riley O\u2019Neil, 35, who was fatally \u201cdoored\u201d a month earlier<\/a> in a paint-only bike lane on Halsted Street in Bridgeport. \u201cWhat could have happened on June 5 if Riley\u2019s route home was bike-friendly?\u201d Oldfield asked. \u201cWhat could have happened if there were concrete barriers or bollards between traffic or parking spots and where he was riding? Riley wouldn\u2019t have been doored\u2026 He probably would have returned home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Southwest Side traffic safety advocates ride the controversial<\/a> Archer Avenue protected bike lanes to Bridgeport for the June 8 memorial ride and \u201cdie-in\u201d<\/a> honoring Riley O\u2019Neil. Photo: John Greenfield<\/p>\n

\u201cI am sure that on many major streets [in Chicago], an accommodation for a raised bike lane<\/a> would be possible and might save lives,\u201d wrote Copenhagen native<\/a> Karen E. Knutson on July 5.<\/a> \u201cThe bike lane is raised a little from the street, and then the sidewalk is raised a little from the bike lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A raised bike lane in Copenhagen. Photo: John Greenfield<\/p>\n

\u201cI own a car,\u201d Benjamin Burton<\/a> wrote on July 6.<\/a> \u201cI do not own a bicycle. We need more bike safety infrastructure, and drivers needs to be forced to slow down. Bike lanes, pedestrian refuge islands, traffic diverters and curb bumpouts all need to be expanded throughout the entire street system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA 2024 study<\/a>\u00a0sponsored by the city\u2019s Department of Transportation showed that Chicago experienced a 119 percent increase in biking citywide between fall 2019 and spring 2023, the highest growth rate among the 10 largest cities in the United States,\u201d wrote Molly Fleck<\/a> on July 7.<\/a>\u00a0In 2025<\/a>, Chicagoans took 6.8 million trips on Divvy bikes. What is the city willing to do to continue growing that number? Are our leaders willing to reimagine our streets as places for all kinds of transportation?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago needs a citywide connected network of bike lanes and safe pedestrian crossings, and we won\u2019t get one as long as every mile of it depends on a single alderman\u2019s mood,\u201d noted Tony Adams<\/a> on July 8,<\/a> the final day of the series. \u201cRight now, aldermanic prerogative<\/a> means each of the city\u2019s 50 wards decides on its own whether to build, expand or block this infrastructure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

These statements about how to improve Chicago cycling are all important food for thought. And that\u2019s definitely a better use of one\u2019s brain power than worrying too much about People for Bikes\u2019 assessment of our city!<\/p>\n

Check out People For Bikes\u2019 2026 City Ratings report here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out their 2026 ratings for Chicago here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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