As an avid bicycle commuter, it was pleasing to see the rapid growth in communities being designated as “bicycle friendly” by the League of American Bicyclists. Likewise, it is nice to see numerous college campuses and a growing number of businesses also participating.

As a planner and one who enjoys studying statistics and trends, the most intriguing aspects of the growth in participants to me are the clusters that are developing around the country. This is important for several reasons:

It shows that more people are “getting it” and not just in certain progressive enclaves.

It shows that coordinated efforts are taking place in a variety urban areas, not just lone islands of bike friendliness.

It shows healthy participation by the public sector, private sector, and by non-profits.

It shows that some smaller urban areas that deserve special recognition for the extent of participation in their community, especially La Crosse, WI/MN and Fort Collins, CO.

It shows that much of metropolitan Washington, DC understands the importance of providing non-motorized infrastructure, even when some members of Congress are totally clueless.

It shows a number of major metropolitan areas are missing from the cluster list, including New York City, Houston, San Diego, San Antonio, Dallas-Forth Worth, Austin, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Louisville, SE Florida, Tampa Bay Area, Milwaukee*, Buffalo, St. Louis*, Albuquerque, Rochester, Lexington, Fresno, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and El Paso.

* A number of businesses participate in these metro areas, but do not have participants in at least two categories.

The following is a list of bicycle friendly clusters that have developed around the United States that have participants in at least two of the bicycle-friendly categories (this particular list only includes platinum, gold, silver, and bronze recipients and does not include honorable mentions):