Top 10 bicycle-friendly cities

[swsup97]

 

Sydney - With fuel costs soaring and environmental conservation in

vogue, the bicycle is making a comeback in many cities, becoming a

major part of urban transportation plans.

 

Men's website

AskMen.com (http://www.askmen.com) has come up with a list of the

world's top most bicycle-friendly cities. Reuters has not endorsed this

list:

 

1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

Amsterdam's

comes top when it comes to bicycle-friendly cities and nearly 40

percent of all commutes in Amsterdam are done by bicycle. Public bikes

are available to rent and plans to construct a massive bike parking

structure at the city's main train station are underway.

 

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

 

About 32 percent of

Copenhagen residents are biking to work on a regular basis. The city's

pro-bike culture allows you to rent a public bike for free for just a

deposit.

 

3. Bogota, Colombia

 

While

government programs for bike riding aren't as robust as those in Europe

or America, Bogota has a demographic advantage that makes it a

bicycle-friendly city - only 13 percent of residents own cars, which

makes bicycles a necessity.

 

In fact, once a week, the

city closes over 70 miles of streets to vehicle traffic in favour of

bicycle riders, joggers, skaters and others.

 

4. Curitiba, Brazil

 

Bicycle

integration is at the core of the well-planned Curitiba. The city has

been pushing cycling as the go-to mode of transportation for more than

40 years and the result has been the ubiquity of bike lanes.

 

A vibrant bike-oriented activist community exists to promote bicycle riding as an alternative to auto congestion.

 

5. Montreal, Canada

 

 

Two years ago, Montreal embarked on a $134-million plan to revamp the

city's bike trails and create a more bicycle-friendly atmosphere.

 

The

plan included incorporating bicycle-friendly lock points into standard

parking meters. The city currently boasts 2 400 miles of trails with

plans to expand. Montreal also has the first urban bike-share

infrastructure in North America, the Bixi program.

 

6. Portland, Oregon, United States

 

Portland has created bicycle paths that connect the urban neighbourhoods so a rider can bypass auto commuting altogether.

 

The

city also offers low-cost commuter bicycles to the city's less wealthy

residents which come complete with a helmet, lock, pump, maps, and rain

gear.

 

With over 260 miles of trails and paths, Portland achieves a commuter rate of nearly 9 percent.

 

7. Basel, Switzerland

 

Basel

features street lanes specifically geared toward bicycle riders and

include left-hand turn lanes that are unique to riders. Basel also

supports a robust network of bike-rental programs that allow tourists

and residents alike to ride.

 

8. Barcelona, Spain

 

Among

the now-standard bike lanes, signals and maps that are ubiquitous in

major European cities, Barcelona also has created a green ring that

runs the perimeter of the urban core.

 

This bike path

is peppered with 100 different bike stations as part of Barcelona's

bike-sharing program, allowing riders to rent and drop off at different

locations.

 

9. Beijing, China

 

 

 

As in most developing countries, the car is on the rise, but biking is

still the best way to get around Beijing as car traffic is so slow and

congested. Air quality has been a major issue with the promotion of

bicycle riding as a prominent policy push.

 

10. Trondheim, Norway

 

One

of the biggest drawbacks to riding a bicycle has to be pedalling uphill

so Trondheim has come up with a novel solution to riding uphill -

bicycle lifts that act like ski tows and allow the rider to glide up a

hill without having to pedal. - Reuters

http://www.ioltravel.co.za/article/view/5313867

 

 

[Tumbleweed]

as tnt1 is awol:

 

https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=73289&KW=friendly

[Slowbee]

in bob's case is awol the same as working ?

[Tumbleweed]

in bob's case is awol the same as working ?

 

 

 

 

i think he and silver ronnie have gone away for a romantic getaway...to sasolburg.

[kjind]

Why is the Cradle route not listed here?

[Slowbee]

oh my google.... at least they can get some rubber in sasolburg

[Tumbleweed]

Why is the Cradle route not listed here?

 

 

 

post of the day

[Tumbleweed]

oh my google.... at least they can get some rubber in sasolburg

 

 

 

 

but they can't say they ran outta gas!