Oregon nabs third place in national Bicycle Friendly State rankings – BikePortland

The League of American Bicyclists says the state of Oregon is third best when it comes to bike friendliness. The national nonprofit based in Washington D.C. released its Bicycle Friendly State rankings today and Oregon nabbed the #3 spot behind Washington and Massachusetts. Washington moved up from its third place in 2022 back to the top spot it has held every since the rankings launched in 2008.

It was a very close battle for second place, with Oregon missing out on second place by only one point (image above).

Oregon’s third place marks the fourth time we’ve finished top three since then. Our lowest ranking ever was an embarrassing eighth place in 2011 and we the grabbed the second spot in 2022, which was the last time the rankings were released.

While these rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s worth noting that unlike other clickbait rankings that pop up each year, the League is a legitimate source that puts significant rigor and research behind them. And this year the rankings take on an added layer of importance for Oregon because of the forthcoming conversation in Salem about what is expected to be a multi-billion transportation funding package.

The Street Trust, a Portland nonprofit recognized by the league as Oregon’s statewide bike advocacy group, said the slippage to third is a sign that “Oregon’s progress is at risk” and that a looming $1.75 billion budget shortfall “threatens bicycling and safety programs.” The Street Trust has called an online press conference for later this morning. “Oregon’s leadership in active transportation is at a crossroads,” a media advisory about the press conference reads. “The state’s drop in cycling rankings is due to a lack of investments in maintaining infrastructure and safety programs.”

The Street Trust is clearly using the release of this year’s ranking to frame a particular narrative ahead of the 2025 Oregon Legislative session where lawmakers will debate a massive transportation spending package. In her budget released last week, Governor Tina Kotek said the Oregon Department of Transportation needs to raise a minimum of $1.75 billion just to make ends meet. ODOT meanwhile has calculated their annual funding gap at $4 billion.

In their report card for Oregon, the League said the 2025 session, “Provides an opportunity to pass a once-in-a-decade transportation package focused.” The League also pointed out that Oregon’s statewide bicycle commute rate is the best in America at 1.4% (note this number is based on a U.S. Census survey and doesn’t reflect total ridership and is even less relevant with the massive shift to work-from-home).

When it comes to safety, the League’s analysis reveals that Oregon is the sixth safest for bike riders with 4.1 fatal collisions per 10,000 bike commuters. UPDATE: In the press conference this morning, League Policy Director Ken McLeod said “Unfortunately, Oregon is number 3 because of an increase in bicyclist deaths. Oregon experienced one of the 10 largest increases in the rate of bicyclist deaths per bike commuter and in the last several years.”

Spending-wise, Oregon ranks a respectable 3rd out of 50 states with $8.56 per capita of federal funding spent on biking and walking.

Of the seven categories the League uses to score states, Oregon received 80% or more of total available points for all but two: safety and counting data (knowing how many people are riding statewide), where we netted just 63% and 66% of the total points available respectively.

Read the full report card, see all 50 state rankings, and learn more about the program at BikeLeague.org. And stay tuned for a recap of The Street Trust press conference happening later this morning.

Go deeper:
— Bicycle Friendly States Report & Ranking (PDF)