Arlington Named A 2018 Best Bike City In America

ARLINGTON, VA—Between a scenic bike route on the Mount Vernon Trail to bike lanes and bikeshare stations, you might not be surprised to learn Arlington was named one of the 2018 Best Bike Cities in America.

Bicycling magazine looked at various aspects of bicycling when ranking the top 50 cities, from availability of bike lanes for places bikers can stop at. The magazine graded cities on a 100-point scale with four categories: safety, accessibility to riders of all ages, political climate relating to biking and the scenery and stops along bike routes.

According to the magazine, "the best cities are the ones that don’t cater to one specific type of rider—be it the daily commuter or competitive roadie."

Arlington ranked 17th, up from 25th two years ago. The magazine states Arlington could have made a higher jump in the rankings, but Metro funding issues left less for biking improvements and limited improvements.

Even so, the ranking states the county has added a new track near the Ballston area and began offering incentives for public school staff last year. The county is also working on the addition of buffers on bike lanes to bolster safety.

Nearby Washington, DC ranked 11th and Alexandria 25th.

Here are the top 10 bike cities in America:

1. Seattle, WA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Fort Collins, CO
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. Portland, OR
6. Chicago, IL
7. Eugene, OR
8. Madison, WI
9. New York, NY
10. Cambridge, MA

See the full list here.

Image via Shutterstock