Bike trips on rise in Portland

Many of us here at GreenWorks love commuting by bike.  At times, especially this last summer, it seemed like everyone in Portland was commuting by bike.  Well now we know why it felt that way...  The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently reported in their Portland Bicycle Count for 2010 that total bike trips in Portland is up 8% since last year.  The Portland Daily Journal of Commerce reported that:

The agency today announced the release of the Portland Bicycle Count Report for 2010, which showed a 12 percent increase of bicycle traffic on bridges and a 7 percent increase in bicycle trips on non-bridges over the past year.

“One of the goals of the city of Portland is to increase the number of people getting around on foot, on public transit, in carpools and on bicycles,” said Dan Anderson, a city spokesman. “Traveling those ways increases the health of the city, reduces congestion and saves money.”

Officials view growing ridership as a sign the agency has been successful in making bicycling in the city easier, more comfortable and more accessible, he said.

Overall, the total number of trips increased 8 percent in 2010 compared with 2009 counts, according to the report.

 

And what was a more interesting fact was that...

In the past 10 years, bicycle traffic across the city has risen about 190 percent.

Way to go Portland!  We love to bike.  And we are glad to hear that there will be more people to talk to during our commute in to work.

The full DJC article can be found here.