The League of American Bicyclists listed Somerville as the city with the highest share of bicyclists in the East and the fifth highest share of bicyclists in the nation — with 7.8 percent of the population commuting by bike — in its 2013 annual report released earlier this fall.

“The City of Somerville is working to become the most bikeable, walkable, transit-accessible community in the nation,” Sarah Spicer, senior transportation planner in the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, said.

Spicer explained that Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has set a goal of increasing the overall transportation accessibility throughout Somerville.

“Over the past several years, we’ve worked hard to improve and redesign key streets through the area to ensure they are as safe and welcoming as possible for all users, including cyclists,” she said.

Tufts Bikes President Noah Epstein explained that much of the local population has turned towards cycling for its low cost, speed and flexibility. He noted that many of these bikers are Tufts students, who have been increasingly joining Tufts Cycling Team as local bike-friendly infrastructure grows.

“Many of our streets are older and narrower, so there aren’t too many large thoroughfares where riding a bike is scary,” Epstein said. “There’s less of a car-centric infrastructure here than in cities like New York or [Los Angeles]. You can see wide, painted bike lanes, bike-specific traffic lights and bike paths like the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway, which runs from Bedford through Lexington, Arlington, Somerville and Cambridge.”

Spicer said that the League of American Bicyclists report reaffirmed the City of Somerville’s priority of environmentally equitable transit, given that it has added over 25 miles of bike markings, hundreds of bike parking spots, racks and extensions of the community path to city streets.

She also cited the 2011 launch of the Hubway bike share system, which allows members to rent bikes from docks around the city.

“We recently codified our approach by adapting a Complete Streets Ordinance, which was the first ordinance of this kind in the state,” Spicer said. “[It states] that the design of each roadway project will build a safe environment for all modes.”

Spicer explained that the city’s program for the expansion of cycling is “three-pronged:” engineering, through the physical construction of better facilities for cyclists, education for Somerville residents about how to safely travel and accommodate cyclists and enforcement, through the targeted work of Somerville police that includes ticketing and warnings to uncooperative drivers.

The highest biker count in the city is seen on Beacon St., with peak volumes of cyclists reaching about 400 per hour based on yearly volunteer counts at this location, Spicer noted. Somerville hopes to increase the numbers in as many areas and streets as possible, she said.

Beating out Somerville in the nationwide ranking were Davis, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Palo Alto, Calif. and Berkeley, Calif., according to the report.

Nicole Wynands, program manager for the League of American Bicyclist’s Bicycle Friendly Community and State Programs, said she has seen growth in biker-friendly policies in communities across the nation.

“We’ve seen a whole movement since we started in 2012 amongst communities of all shapes, sizes and populations,” she said. “New policies are being adopted everywhere, every year, allowing communities to build more innovative structures around cyclists — protected bike lanes and bikes shares are popping up all over the country.”

Wynands added that the increased number of cyclists comes not just in urban communities.

“We have 800-person cities apply, and then we have New York,” she explained. “Anyone can do this; anyone can work on being bike-commuter friendly.”

The annual League of American Bicyclists report was compiled using an analysis of 2012 data estimates from the American Community Survey collected by the United States Census Bureau, which reported a 62 percent increase in bicycle commuting since 2000.