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Top 20 bicycle friendly cities

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Just what is the best city in the world for urban cycling? This was the key question of a project by Danish-based Copenhagenize Consulting which aimed to develop an index of how cites fair for bicycle friendliness.

Unsurprisingly given their reputations among bicycling aficionados the world over, Amsterdam and Copenhagen place number one and two in the Top 20 list.

Index

Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 different categories including bike advocacy, bicycle culture and bicycle infrastructure. Additionally bonus points of up to 12 were awarded. In total, a maximum of 64 points could be awarded. No city scored full marks though Amsterdam came close with 54 points.

London and Dublin

London finished in 15^th place with 31 points. Dublin ranked well in 9^th place with 37 points and was the only city to be awarded 12 bonus points.

Despite London’s Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme and cycle superhighway initiatives, Copenhagenize Consulting believes London should think more seriously about infrastructure and mainstream promotion of cycling. Copenhagenize Consulting commended Dublin’s successful bike share programme and visionary politicians who implemented bike lanes and 30 km/h zones.

Top 20 list

In the event of a draw, the city with the highest bonus point score is ranked higher. This determined the hierarchy among the cities of Budapest, Portland, Guadalajara and Hamburg while Helsinki and London were even on all scores, as were Rio de Janeiro and Vienna.

The full list is below:

1. Amsterdam 54
2. Copenhagen 52
3. Barcelona 45
4. Tokyo 41
5. Berlin 41
6. Munich 40
7. Paris 39
8. Montréal 38
9. Dublin 37
10. Budapest 36
11. Portland 36
12. Guadalajara 36
13. Hamburg 36
14. Stockholm 33
15. Helsinki 31
16. = London 31
17. San Francisco 30
18. Rio de Janeiro 30
19. Vienna 30
20. New York City 29

What we want to know is, what is the best city you’ve ever cycled in?

See also

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Bike messenger movie promises thrills and spills

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