Commuting - Best commuting city according to '00 census

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3324568.html

I have to admit commuting in the Twin Cities is pretty nice, the grid of bike lanes is extensive albeit not complete. Often bike lane does not lead into bike lane, into bike lane, into bike lane, but the major sections of downtown are well marked, even though more than a few are "suicide" lanes(to the left of traffic, with bus bearing down on your rear).

We have a fairly comprehensive bike path system in Calgary (Canada) however like most cities it was designed for the recreational rider and not the commuter so the routes are longer than they could be. Another thing is that they only plow a small percentage of these paths in the winter so if you want to commute you have to brave the icey roads - this can be very dangerous! Unfortunately there are not enough winter commuters to demand they be cleared using tax payers money. Maybe in the future they will allocate more resources for maintaining the pathway systems during the winter months!
Cheers
Ben
:beer:

was the rating compiled before or after randy moss was set loose on the city with a lexus, a bag of cannabis, and a mean disposition?

How can a city that gets so insufferably cold really be in the running for the best bike-commuting city? Nothing against Minneapolis-St Paul but really now.

Nah, San Jose wins the prize. Plenty of bike lanes or bike routes. A generally favorable predisposition towards bike-commuters. Almost totally flat but serious hill climbing is available within commuting distances. A place where two days of 30 degrees is considered a major cold spell. The sea breezes dissipate most of the heat of summer, or at least keep you comfortable in conjunction with the low humidity. Zero chance of rain from about May to about November.

No siree, if you can bike-commute in San Jose, you can't bike-commute anywhere.

well, i'm not too familiar with the north, but as the article states, it is likely that the large number of college students skewed the numbers a little...

also, the question was:
How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK? If this person usually used more than one method of transportation during the trip, mark (X) the box of the one used for most of the distance. so if it was filled out in the ssummer, than winter cold was not an issue (i.e. did not try to determine year-round usage)

and i also find it hard to believe that Eugene and Boulder and other college town didn't show up on this list. but i think this is because it was the "67 largest" and so most of the college town were too small. Tuscon and St Paul/Minn just happen to be big enough to be on the list AND still have a lot of college students...

ok, i did a little searching and found some more at http://www.bikesatwork.com/information/carfree/2000msa.shtml

above 2% cycling to work:
Eugene: 2.80
Minneaplois: 2.74 (although St Paul 0.71)
Sacramento City: 2.66 (although Sacramaneto 1.26)
Boise City: 2.52
Trenton NJ: 2.37
Portland: 2.35
Atlantic Cape May, NJ: 2.32
Tucson City: 2.28 (although listing for Tucson 1.45)
Fresno City: 2.04 (although Fresno 1.07)
Tampa City: 2.01 (althogh Tampa 1.09)

... anyway, obviously the city size and whether it includes the metro (suburbs) or not is a factor which i think explains a little why places like Tucso, Sacramento and Minneapolis are so high (because the city is broken out from the metro more than say Portland...)

that said (to explain why it ranked SO high), it's still a good and encouraging thing...

Andy, to turn the qusetion around: why is it that a place like California where year-round commuting is easy -- because it is never too hot and never too cold and doesn't rain a lot -- there aren't MORE commuters? Portland for example also has OK commuting weather as it doesn't get hot and rarely too cold but it rains 9 months a year...

lastly for 19 communities the CYLCE COMMUTING estimate was 0.00%:
Beaumont--Port Arthur, TX
Birmingham, AL
Canton--Massillon, OH
Colorado Springs, CO
Davenport--Moline--Rock Island, IA--IL
El Paso, TX
Fayetteville, NC
Hickory--Morganton--Lenoir, NC
Huntsville, AL
Killeen--Temple, TX
Macon, GA
McAllen--Edinburg--Mission, TX
Mobile, AL
Peoria--Pekin, IL
Reading, PA
Rockford, IL
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA
South Bend, IN
Tulsa, OK

*** wow, most do not surprize me EXCEPT for Colorado Springs - i know it's a conservative ex-military retirement community, but i thought it still had a lot of cyclists with the great weather and the mountains nearby... i guess they don't translate into commuters

Originally posted by nathank
... Andy, to turn the qusetion around: why is it that a place like California where year-round commuting is easy -- because it is never too hot and never too cold and doesn't rain a lot -- there aren't MORE commuters?...
I wish I knew. I wish I knew.

I started bike-commuting 6 years ago at least partly because I knew things would never be more conducive than in SJ.

Originally posted by nathank
...lastly for 19 communities the CYLCE COMMUTING estimate was 0.00%:

....

*** wow, most do not surprize me EXCEPT for Colorado Springs - i know it's a conservative ex-military retirement community, but i thought it still had a lot of cyclists with the great weather and the mountains nearby... i guess they don't translate into commuters That is probably a function of the small sample.

Incidentally, Minneapolis is a pretty bike friendly place but yesterday I had my first confrontation with a motorist in 4 years of commuting.

A car full of punk kids screamed at me to get off the road as they went by. I chased them, caught them at a red light, and explained to them that cyclists have a right to use the road. One of them said, "you're gonna get hit". I explained that the road is safer than the sidewalk or bike paths. I think they thought I was a lunatic.

Ive lived here for 5 years where the heck is Tampa City?:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

above 2% cycling to work:
Eugene: 2.80
Minneaplois: 2.74 (although St Paul 0.71)
Sacramento City: 2.66 (although Sacramaneto 1.26)

This seems about right. I live in the city about 4 miles from downtown and have an easy commute. You see a lot of folks on bikes in Midtown or coming in from the eastern suburbs on the American River Trail. And then there are the hardcore Davis commuters. But for the most part suburban commuters would rather inch along the freeway in their Excursions.

I do have to disagree about the "never too hot in California" comment, at least as it has to do with Sacramento. Typical summer highs here are 100+. It doesn't bother me, but that's always cited to me as a reason why folks don't bike commute.

Originally posted by caloso
I do have to disagree about the "never too hot in California" comment, at least as it has to do with Sacramento. Typical summer highs here are 100+. It doesn't bother me, but that's always cited to me as a reason why folks don't bike commute.
True. As you know, California --especially the Bay Area -- has a bunch of microclimates. 30 miles in any direction yields a completely different climatic condition. SF is generally danged cold in summer, SJ can get pretty danged hot, and Sac gets HOT HOT HOT !!!

I do have to disagree about the "never too hot in California" comment, at least as it has to do with Sacramento. Typical summer highs here are 100+. It doesn't bother me, but that's always cited to me as a reason why folks don't bike commute.

well, you're right, sort of... i was actually directing my comment more to Andy and more near the coast... and you're right that more east is definitely gets hotter....

but even so, for the most part i personally think that even in the "desert" California in the summer it's not too bad b/c the humidity is still low (i.e. dry heat) --- i grew up it relatively dry and hot Dallas where 102+ is common in July/August but then when i lived in Houston i had major problems doing sports in the summer when it was ONLY 96 or 98F or so (b/c of 100% humidity) --- for outdoor activities i'd choose 10F and lower humidity any day (your perspiration doesn't evaporate and cool you in the humidity, plus it's just nasty always being coated in sweat)

Ive lived here for 5 years where the heck is Tampa City?

ok, well, typing from the list i first typed "tampa bay" then corrected it to "tampa" and then i checked again "what the heck is Tampa City?" --- i guess i'm not the only one

... anyway, i guess it's some division to mean just the urbanized part not including suburbs or outer areas or whatever. i've actually never been to Tampa although my sister lived for 3 years in Daytona Beach not THAT far away (she's now back in Philadelphia)

but even so, for the most part i personally think that even in the "desert" California in the summer it's not too bad b/c the humidity is still low (i.e. dry heat)

Official motto of the City of Sacramento: "But it's a dry heat."

:)

Atlanta has consistently scored at the bottom of the list.

Yet somehow, I always manage to thoroughly enjoy myself. I grab a map and go for it. I have fun.

I feel sorry for all those poor motorists locked in an unending queue of cars, waiting for another change of the light. What's the point of going fast just to stop for another light?

They ought to come up with, "The best car-commuting city according to the '00 census."

:lol:

Atlanta, according to Nathan's census info, with over 4 million people, has 1/100 of 1% bicycle commuters. That can't be right, can it? That's only 400 out of 4,000,000. Boston has about 3,000,000 people, but over 25,000 bicycle commuters.

Did I compute this wrong?

Aaah, the reasons for not biking: It's too cold; It snows too much here; It's too hot: I don't have time; It hurts my body; I'll sweat too much; I can't afford a bike; It'll wrinkle my clothes; There's too much traffic; I'm scared to ride around cars; I have too much stuff to carry; It's too far; I'm too lazy; My big fat rear end doesn't fit on a bicycle seat.

I wonder what the factors are that lead to bike commuting. A health centered population? Poverty stricken college students? Good roads? It can't be weather. People are much better about cycling in Minnesota or Wisconsin than they are in Iowa, but they have more cold and more snow.

I used to live in Columbia, South Carolina. NOBODY bikes there, or walks for that matter. City roads have very high speed limits so a cyclist would find themselves on a five lane road with bumper to bumper traffic going 50 mph. They have high insurance rates there for a reason. And forget about walking; there are NO sidewalks. I always found it ironic that in a climate where one could ride a bike, moped or motorcycle year round (some would prefer the moped when it's 105 F with jungle humity), that no one does. It's a safety factor. You would eventually die, guaranteed. I have found the southeast in general to be that way. The one place you can travel anyway you want because of the weather, you can't. And conversely, in the north where weather limits you, everyone travels however they want, riding their bikes through blizzards and subfeezing temps. Why do humans always do the opposite of what you expect?

Clay

Originally posted by nathank
....... I've actually never been to Tampa although my sister lived for 3 years in Daytona Beach not THAT far away (she's now back in Philadelphia) It's only on the other side of the friggin' state man!!:roflmao: