The national League of American Bicyclists (LAB) released their latest Bicycle Friendly State Report Cards in late October. Illinois saw a slight dip in its ratings this year, but still ranked #16 overall and 3rd out of 13 Midwestern states. Our state was tops in the Legislation and Enforcement category, low in Infrastructure and Funding, and “mostly an average state” in other areas.
View Illinois’ report card here
Ride Illinois attributes the drop from #14 last year to some states making changes more quickly than Illinois, as well as the state’s financial situation. Two examples of slow progress are a lack of substantive improvements to the design policy manual for state-maintained roads, and to the state’s administration of the main federal funding source for trails and bikeways. We continue to advocate for specific updates and changes for these issues.
Positive steps that could help next year’s scoring include the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) staff training programs on bicycle issues and the award of a federally-funded grant to Ride Illinois to proliferate use of our BikeSafetyQuiz.com resource at schools, driver education classes, and police departments.
Ride Illinois is working with IDOT and other state agencies on several additional report card feedback/criteria points – in hopes for a higher ranking in 2018!