Florida Ranks Tenth in Terms of Bike-Friendliness

Bicycle safety

FLORIDA- Patch.com writes that the League of American Bicyclists has named Florida the tenth most bike-friendly state in the country. The Florida Department of Transportation announced the rankings this week touting the favorable results as a sign of the work the department has been completing to make the roads safer for everyone.

Florida topped the list in the category that ranks states for Infrastructure and Funding. The first-place spot in that area is thanks to the state’s efforts to build infrastructure that benefits cyclists. Florida uses both state and federal funding to complete such projects.

There are four other categories that the League analyzed in creating its overall rankings. In addition to the infrastructure ranking, the other categories include Legislation and Enforcement, Education and Encouragement, Policies and Programs, and Evaluation and Planning.

The rankings are created using data that is available to the public. Florida has been moving steadily up the list over the last few years. In 2015, Florida was in 24^th place, and in 2017, the Sunshine State moved into fifteenth place.

One of the state’s plans that is helping improve safety for cyclists is a street lighting project. The improved lighting will not only make the state’s roads safer for cyclists but for pedestrians as well. The improvements will cost about $100 million.

The League has been working since 2008 to create rankings of state-cyclist safety. By identifying states that are doing comparatively well in making the roads bike-friendly, the locations in need of improvements are able to identify their shortcomings and potential solutions.

While Florida is performing better when it comes to bike-friendly roads, a recent survey indicated that the state still has more cyclist deaths than any other in the nation.