Chicago Again Ranked As a Top "Bikeable" City

Walk Score, a website known for ranking the "walkability" of specific residential locations based upon proximity to amenities such as restaurants and grocery stores, recently released its new bike score rankings. The rankings assign a "bikeability" score to major U.S. cities based upon criteria such as the number of bikers using the streets, the city's terrain, and the city's investments in bicycle-friendly accommodations, such as on-street bicycle lanes and bicycle parking. 

 The Illinois Bicycle Attorneys of Keating Law Offices are pleased to report that Walk Score ranked Chicago the 10th most "bikeable" large U.S. city. Chicago was the only Midwestern city to rank among the Top 10, with Portland topping the list. 

Chicago's "bikeability" has undoubtedly increased in recent years. Following the lead of his predecessory, Mayor Richard M. Daley, current Mayor Rahm Emanuel campaigned for the mayoral office on a promise to make Chicago an even more bicycle friendly city. So far, Mayor Emanuel has made good on that promise, as millions of dollars have been invested in installing more than 200 miles of on-street bike ways in Chicago since he took office. 

The attorneys at Keating Law Offices hope the Chicago City Council will continue to invest in making Chicago an even more "bikeable" city in the coming years. Part of making Chicago "bikeable" also includes efforts to make bicycling safer. Recent developments such as the installation of protected bike lanes are particularly effective in reducing the number of bicycle accidents and crashes. In addition, proposed legislation that will increase the penalty to motorists who cause a bicycle accident or collision will also serve to reduce the risk as the threat of a heavy penalty should act as a motivation to motorists to LOOK for bicycles. 

While great progress has been made, as attorneys who handle cases stemming from bicycle accidents and crashes, we are particularly mindful of the direct improvements to the city's infrastructure and polices that reduce or even eliminate the risk of bicycle accidents or crashes.

If you have any questions regarding this post please contact Illinois Bicycle Attorney Mike Keating at 312-208-7702 or MKeating@KeatingLegal.com.