League of American Bicyclists

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is coming for our bike lanes — and the time to act is now.

...but even the best of the best isn't doing enough to protect people on two wheels, a top advocacy group warns.

"Proven safety countermeasures" might sound like a wonky engineering term, but it could hold the key to unlocking money to save lives.

A shift in messaging about how America gets from one place to another is emerging. At his confirmation hearing, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg pointedly called out the auto-centrism and inequities of our transportation system and noted the economic success cities like his own South Bend have had by making transportation options like biking and walking safer and easier to access. Could we possibly be on the verge of a transportation system that actively serves all Americans, whether they drive or not? Is it finally time to provide real mobility to those that have been denied and harmed by policies of the past? Could transportation infrastructure actually become part of the solution to climate change instead of a liability?

How does your state measure up on bike policy? The League of American Bicyclists is out with its 2015 state rankings, highlighting the states that are doing the most -- and the least -- to make bicycling a safe and convenient way to get around. Washington tops the list for the eighth year in a row, with Alabama bringing up the rear.

Do people of color and low-income people ride bikes? Not as much as they could, given all the great benefits biking offers, particularly to people without a lot of disposable cash. But yes, non-white and non-rich people ride bikes -- in high numbers compared to the general population, by some measures.

When someone is killed while riding a bike in the United States, the most follow-up you'll usually see is a newspaper article or two. There's rarely a trial or a detailed examination of what went wrong.

Bike advocates from places like Portland, New York, and Boulder got a little Rust Belt envy this week when Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto spoke to the National Bike Summit Tuesday morning.

Carolyn Szczepanski is the Bike League's communications director. A version of this post was originally published on the Bike League Blog.