health and fitness: Davis, California – the American city which fell in love with the bicycle

lundi 3 août 2015

Davis, California – the American city which fell in love with the bicycle

In most US cities, the share of trips made by bike struggles to reach 2%. In Davis it’s 10 times that – but the city is becoming less and less of a paradise for pedalling

Sacramento in northern California is a typical American city, in thrall to the car. Twelve miles west is the university city of Davis. It’s not a typical American city; it’s in thrall to the bicycle.

Squint and you could be in the Netherlands: people dot around on bikes. Schoolchildren. Students. Professors. Bank managers. There are bike paths on the University of California Davis campus and in the city, the civic symbol of which is a penny-farthing. Cycling in Davis is not cultish: it’s ordinary, no special clothing required. In most American cities, the modal share for cycling struggles to reach 2%; in Davis it’s 20%. That’s well on the bike path to 25%, the average modal share for cycling in the Netherlands.