FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

June 9, 2020
 
Contact: Dane Eifling
Mobility Coordinator
Engineering Division
479-575-8243
deifling@fayetteville-ar.gov

 
 
Fayetteville Ranks #10 in Best US Cities for Bikes
 

 
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville has been ranked in the top ten among US cities in the PeopleForBikes’ third annual ratings of the best cities for bicycling in the US.
 
The PeopleForBikes City Ratings program is a data-driven analysis that evaluates more than 550 cities and towns and shows city leaders how they can invest to make bicycling better for all residents and visitors. City Ratings are scored across five key indicators: Ridership (how many people are riding bikes), Safety (how safe is it to ride bikes), Network (how easy is it for people to bike where they want to go), Reach (how well the network serves all parts of the community), and Acceleration (how fast the community is working to improve biking) Fayetteville performed superbly in Acceleration, ranking #1 nationally. 
 
“Now in its third year, the City Ratings create a complete picture of bicycling in cities based on measurable factors,” says Rebecca Davies, PeopleForBikes bicycle networks data manager. “Top scorers are cities of all types and geographies who have succeeded in different ways, including cities that have made strong historical investments in active transportation as well as cities pursuing ambitious plans to rapidly implement high-quality bicycle networks on their streets.”
 
Data for the ratings comes from existing sources (including the US Census American Community Survey and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System), as well as sources developed by the PeopleForBikes team to capture city-specific data based on mapping, city planning information and survey responses from community members. This year, individuals submitted a record-breaking 68,000 surveys. From these sources, 184 calculations are performed per city to determine the five category scores, as well as a city or town’s overall score.
 
Mayor Lioneld Jordan said about the award: “We are extremely proud of what we’ve been able to do here in Fayetteville. A community that—just 20 years ago—didn’t have a single bike lane or a shared-use paved trail is now in the top ten in the nation. It’s remarkable progress.”
 
The full ratings are available at https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org.
Read more about the methodology here: https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/methodology/.
 
 

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