Washington state is the most bike-friendly but gets D in infrastructure

Washington tops a list of bike-friendly states released by the League of American Bicyclists. For their annual state biking report card, Washington did well in every category except “infrastructure,” where we got a big fat D.

According to Biking Bis, the rankings are based on a questionnaire answered by the state bicycle coordinators. States are then graded on six categories. Here’s how Washington did:

• Legislation: A
• Policies and programs: A
• Infrastructure: D
• Education and encouragement: A
• Evaluation and planning: B
• Enforcement: B

Congratulations to Washington state transportation leaders. Remember this ranking when deciding what to cut when rescinding federal transportation funds. Last year, nearly 35 percent of Washington’s rescinded funds came from the “transportation enhancements” budget — which funds many bicycle and pedestrian projects — even though those “enhancements” only made up 2 percent of the total budget.