Iowa Ranks number 6 in the Bicycle Friendly State Rankings

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From the Iowa Bicycle Coalition...

Iowa has risen to number six in the bicycle friendly state rankings by the League of American Bicyclists. The second annual ranking of Bicycle Friendly States scores the 50 states on a 75-item questionnaire that evaluates a state’s commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation, policies and programs, infrastructure, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement.

In addition to being the six on the Bicycle Friendly State list, Iowa also has it's first Bicycle Friendly Community. Cedar Falls was awarded a Bicycle Friendly Community Bronze Level Award. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition and the Active Transportation Alliance has completed work in Cedar Falls to create 53 miles of bike routes and bike lanes in addition an existing world-class trail system.

League President Andy Clarke highlighted that "several states dramatically improved their ranking by updating their traffic codes, increasing the level of funding for bicycle improvements, implementing education programs aimed at cyclists and motorists, getting organized and hosting their first statewide bicycling conferences and events."

“We've always known Iowa is a great place to ride a bicycle,” explains Mark Wyatt, Executive Director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, a state-wide bicycle advocacy organization. Iowa received a high mark in the education category. Wyatt says “efforts like the Iowa Bicycle Summit, Safe Routes to School Program, and Share the Road campaigns that brought Iowa up higher in the rankings”

Iowa was also ranked high in enforcement, which considered bicycle law training police officers receive at academy and recent advances or red light cameras. “We still have issues with how bicycle crashes are enforced,” Wyatt states citing a recent Des Moines bike crash where the driver was not cited by determined to be at fault.

Iowa's legislation ranking is lower compared to other states. “We need some clarity in the Iowa Code for bicycles.” Iowa gives bicycles the same rights and duties as drivers of vehicles according to the Iowa Code. “15 states have laws that require a safe passing distance of bicycles.” according to Wyatt, “Wisconsin has had a safe passing law since 1973.” The Iowa Legislature considered a bike safety bill this year and discussions are underway for the Iowa House to take up the issue during the next session.

The Bicycle Friendly State program is revolutionizing the way states evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle-friendliness. The rankings are used to create momentum amongst states and communities to continue to become more bicycle friendly.

“State policies and programs have a dramatic impact on the bicycle-friendliness of communities and we are thrilled to see a marked improvement since the League first ranked states last fall,” stated Clarke. “This year we are also recognizing several states for their impressive initiatives to improve conditions for bicyclists, and the timing could not be better for doing that: for energy, environment, and health benefits as well as traffic improvements.”

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Rally For Bike Safety on April 15 in Des Moines

From my inbox...

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is extremely concerned about the number of cyclists already injured by reckless motorists driving this year. We remain disappointed that the Iowa House of Representatives has failed to take up the bicycle safety bill. New laws or no new laws, drivers need to give cyclists a safety passing distance.

Cyclists will ride to the steps of the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday, April 15 at 5:30 PM in opposition to the violent crashes and road rage incidents that have occurred this spring. The ride will begin in the parking lot of Rasmussen's Bike Shop at 301 Grand Ave in West Des Moines.

The ride follows a crash near Winterset, where the driver of a truck pulling a trailer passed too closely to a group of cyclists, ran over one cyclist with his trailer and left the scene. Cyclists report the motorist was honking constantly as he passed and returned to the scene 30 minutes later.

Details are in a news story on KCCI:
http://www.kcci.com/video/19170301/index.html

Another crash this year involved Ken Sherman. Sherman was riding through an intersection in Des Moines when a car failed to yield to the oncoming cyclist and collided with Sherman causing injuries. The Des Moines Police failed to issue any citations following the incident, but determined the motorist to be at fault.

Cyclists still have the same rights and duties of the drivers of motor vehicles as specified in the Iowa Code. Incidents where cyclists are injured due to the inattentiveness of motorists are irresponsible and should be cited by police as appropriate. Incidents where cyclists are harassed or intimidated intentionally are violent and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.