It’s been getting tons of coverage in the local media and from national organizations: As the rate of cycling in the Twin Cities has increased, crash rate has declined.
Similar findings have occurred in studies in NYC, Portland (OR), and even Australia.
Meanwhile, in other places in the country, the news isn’t so good. Bike crashes in San Francisco increased 8 percent in the past two years, while ridership growth has been only 3 percent. The data is further complicated by the fact that SF police only write on-scene reports if someone lands in an ambulance.
Per the people who compiled the report, there seems to be perception on both sides of the issue (cars and cyclists) that the other side is crazy, and that many places to ride are unsafe – which is probably a limiter of ridership growth. Meanwhile, because of the accident stats, it’s easy to expect ridership growth to stay low or flat.
Active encouragement of cycling – as has been happening in Minneapolis, NYC and Portland – helps drive adoption of cycling as a transport mode, which increases safety. Bad news about safety ends up being counterproductive in multiple ways, as the San Francisco data suggests.
Photo by Patrick, via Flickr.
