We've heard anecdotal reports that cycling is up in Seattle (which one attorney says results in more bicycle/car collisions). Well here's data to back it up:
Seattle Bike Blog has stats showing that bicycle commuting saw a 22 percent uptick in Seattle from 2009 to 2010, with Tom Fucoloro explaining that the "data confirms the cityâs 2010 downtown bike commute count, which measured an increase of 21.4 percent in the same time period."
Using Census data from 70 cities that was compiled by the League of American Bicyclistsâa real thing, apparently, and not a specter dreamed up by Joni Balterâthe data show that bike riding in Seattle rose 93 percent between 2000 and 2010. Nationally, we saw only a 39 percent rise over the last decade.
This sort of evidence should give reason to build more protected, or at least clearly delineated, bicycle lanesânot sharrows that terminate directly into opening car doors and bicycle lanes that disappear right where traffic gets badâso cyclists stop getting hit, right?