While visiting the grandkids, Carol secretly investigates “Platinum” Bicycle Friendly Community Boulder, Colorado

Thanks to a couple of delightful grandkids living in Boulder, Colorado, I have several opportunities a year to visit Boulder, which is ranked as a “Platinum” (the very highest ranking) “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists.

According to the League, there are only five of these “Platinum” communities in the entire United States. With my perfect cover as a harmless grandmother, I decided to conduct my own surreptitious investigation to see whether the League’s ranking was accurate. View the little slideshow below to see what I found out:

Some of what you see in Boulder today came out of Boulder’s innovative Living Lab Pilot Program in 2014, which tests street designs in order achieve goals established by the 2014 Transportation Master Plan. A tremendous amount of data has been collected regarding the changes, which will guide street planners on what should be made permanent and what can be improved upon.

Delaware has made progress in making its streets more bike friendly, and has even done small experiments with street design, for example the “better blocks” in Wilmington and Laurel, and for a protected bike lane in Newark (which will be Delaware’s first). What distinguishes Boulder, however, is they way they have made a systematic commitment to innovation to improve cycling. That’s a commitment I’d like to see us make in Delaware too.

  Carol Ireland is a bicycle advocate.

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