Another major effort in Portland, and a place where we lead the nation, is in encouraging bicycle transportation, to reduce fuel use, reduce carbon emissions, reduce traffic congestion, and improve public health. Now you may wonder why that needs to be encouraged because so many people in Japan and some other countries ride bicycles regularly. But in the U.S., bikes were abandoned as transportation vehicles when cars became prolific, even though it was the cyclists who first lobbied for road construction.
And in the U.S. most people will not ride their bikes unless they feel safe from vehicle traffic. So Portland has been investing heavily in bicycle infrastructure for the past 15 years, and now has the highest ridership levels in the country--7 times higher than the U.S. average. The city is in the process of updating its Bicycle Master Plan, with the goal of having 25% of trips in the city being taken by bike by 2030. This also has benefits for tourism, as bicycle tourism is growing in the U.S. and is popular internationally, and Portland is consistently rated the “most bicycle friendly city” in the country, and one of the top in the world.