Travel-adventure site ranks America’s most bicycle-friendly cities. Where does Fresno stand?

Fresno received a shoutout as one of the nation’s top 30 best cities for bicycling in a new rating by the adventure website Explore, topping Colorado Springs, Tucson and Las Vegas in a ranking that takes into consideration safety, infrastructure and commuting.

Explore ranked Portland, Ore., as the nation’s top bike-friendly city, followed by Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Fresno ranks No. 27, just behind Tampa and just ahead of Indianapolis.

The survey takes into consideration bike infrastructure from data from the League of American Bicyclists; bikesharing reports from People for Bikes; the bike commuter ranking, which considers the number of bike commuters per capita; and bike safety statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. . One area where Fresno may have fallen down in the survey: average hot and cold days, with 60 degree Fahrenheit considered ideal bicycling weather.

Fresno has been criticized by bike riders for not building more bike lanes that separate riders from motor vehicle traffic, most recently in January, following a deadly truck-bike collision near Woodward Park that took the life of retired teacher Paul Moore, 61.

But more lanes protecting bicyclists are planned by the city, including a route from Dakota Avenue to downtown.

Local riders will also have more of an incentive to jump on two wheels when a state incentive will make it more affordable to buy an electric bike goes into effect in July.

This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.