Kansas City Remains Near the Bottom of Nationwide Biking and Walking Ratings, but Continues to Show Improvements, says BikeWalkKC
Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) April 16, 2014 -- New data from the Alliance for Biking & Walking shows more Kansas Citians are biking and walking to work than ever. Kansas City is also becoming a safer place to walk; however, bike safety ratings continue to lag.
Moving Up in the Rankings
In 2012, Kansas City ranked 33rd out of the 52 most populous US cities for walking to work. In 2014, KC jumped to #30.Our closest neighbors include Omaha at #26, Chicago at #8 and Wichita at #50. Nationally the top five walking cities are Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, San Francisco and Honolulu. Our bike commuting ranking also improved from #42 to #41.
Still Room for Improvement
KC’s bicyclist safety ranking dropped from #34 in 2012 to #37 in 2014. Our closest neighbors include Omaha at #45, Chicago at #19 and Wichita at #2. (Safety rankings are based on crashes and fatalities.) KC also still lags behind on rankings of residents getting the recommended amount of physical activity. We ranked #38 in 2014.
City investment on bike/ped projects
Kansas City ranked 16th among the largest cities for per capita spending on bicycle/pedestrian projects. Our closest neighbors include Omaha at #14, Chicago at #31 and Wichita at #41.
How Our Women Rank
The report found 41% of Kansas Citians who walk to work are women (the national average for large cities is 50%). Only 33% of KC bike commuters are women. Nationwide, the number of women biking to work continues to be much lower than their male counterparts. The League of American Bicyclists launched the Women Bike initiative to empower women, and BikeWalkKC is hosting the KC Women's Bike Summi t on May 10 to get more women on bikes.
"It’s nice to see Kansas City is continuing to show improvements when its comes to biking and walking,” says Eric Rogers, Executive Director of BikeWalkKC. "However, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Kansas City needs to continue to invest in projects to make our city a better place to bike in order to compete with other cities that have been dedicated to supporting biking and walking for much longer."
Download the Alliance's 2014 Benchmarking Report here.
About the Data
The Alliance for Biking and Walking's "Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2014 Benchmarking Report" collects and analyzes data from all 50 states, 52 of the most populous cities, and – new to the 2014 edition – 17 small and midsized cities. The report traces the rise of walking and biking and explores its connection to health issues like obesity and diabetes.
About BikeWalkKC
BikeWalkKC is the unified voice for active living, promoting a healthy, safe and accessible outdoor experience for all in a vibrant, engaged community. BikeWalkKC is a member-supported organization that works to make Greater Kansas City a safer and more accessible place to walk, bicycle, live, work, and play. The advocacy programs work with local cities to improve policies and build sidewalks, trails, crosswalks, bike lanes, and more. BikeWalkKC's education programs give people the knowledge and skills to walk and to bicycle safely and confidently for transportation, recreation, and fitness. Learn more at BikeWalkKC.org.
Sarah Shipley, BikeWalkKC, http://www.bikewalkkc.org, +1 (202) 577-7141, [email protected]
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