Oregon 5th most bike-friendly state

Annual rankings from The League of American Bicyclists are out, and Oregon has slipped to number five from number three. Washington takes the cake with number one for the seventh year in a row. Here’s the top 10 list:

Oregon’s report card shows that the state gets a four out of five possible points in three categories: legislation and enforcement, policies and programs, and education and encouragement. Its lowest category is once again infrastructure and planning.

The League of American Bicyclists offers this feedback for making Oregon a more bike-friendly state:

• Repeal the state’s mandatory bike lane law.

• Adopt performance measures, such as mode

shift or a low percentage of exempted projects,

to better track and support Complete Streets/

Bike Accommodation Policy compliance.

• Update your state bicycle master plan. The plan update

should evaluate and build on the previous bicycle

master plan, and reflect changes in bicycle user needs.

• Adopt performance measures to

decrease bicycle fatalities.

• Adopt a mode share goal for biking to

encourage the integration of bicycle

transportation needs into all transportation

and land use policy and project decisions.

• Adopt the National Association of City

Transportation Officials (NACTO) Design Guide.

• Adopt a Vision Zero policy to help Oregon

reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

• Increase the dedication of funding to bicycle

and pedestrian projects from 1% of state

transportation trust funds to 2%.

• Adopt a policy requiring state office buildings,

state park and recreation facilities, and other

state facilities to provide bicycle parking.

• Since arterial and collector roads are the backbone

of every transportation network, it is essential

to provide adequate bicycle facilities along these

roads. Increase the percentage of state highway

network that has paved shoulders or bike lanes.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!