Census: Portland bike commuting laid low again in year before Covid
2019 was another year with little growth in bike commuting, in Portland or elsewhere in the U.S.
Note: I'm currently on a family trip and not working normal hours. Email and message responses will be delayed and story and posting volumes here and on our social media accounts will not be at their usual levels until I return to Portland September 4th. Thanks for your patience and understanding. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
2019 was another year with little growth in bike commuting, in Portland or elsewhere in the U.S.
The latest numbers from the U.S. Census bureau estimate that the number of people who bike to work in Portland is down to 5.3%. That number is down from 6.3% in 2017 and it’s the lowest we’ve seen since 2007. Portland’s bike to work number peaked at 7.2% in 2014.
Here’s what it might mean about the future.
Portland’s bike commute rate has slipped to its lowest level since 2011.
In fact, drive-alone commuting just hit another record low.
That’s almost exactly the size of the entire central business district.
It comes after 10 years of falling further and further behind the number of people moving to Portland.
The Portland metro area seems to have already discovered how to slow the growth of traffic congestion.
Vancouver has rapidly boosted biking to a rate we’ve probably never seen in a major modern North American city.
Hidden in this street is an important lesson about bike transportation in the United States.
And the strange correlation between old buildings and good transit.
Comment of the Week: Gratitude for N/NE Broadway project